Diphenylalanine Peptide Nanotube Energy Harvesters

Piezoelectric materials are excellent generators of clean energy, as they can harvest the ubiquitous vibrational and mechanical forces. We developed large-scale unidirectionally polarized, aligned diphenylalanine (FF) nanotubes and fabricated peptide-based piezoelectric energy harvesters. We first used the meniscus-driven self-assembly process to fabricate horizontally aligned FF nanotubes. The FF nanotubes exhibit piezoelectric properties as well as unidirectional polarization. In addition, the asymmetric shapes of the self-assembled FF nanotubes enable them to effectively translate external axial forces into shear deformation to generate electrical energy. The fabricated peptide based piezoelectric energy harvesters can generate voltage, current, and power of up to 2.8 V, 37.4 nA, and 8.2 nW, respectively, with 42 N of force, and can power multiple liquid-crystal display panels. These peptide-based energy-harvesting materials will provide a compatible energy source for biomedical applications in the future.