Liquid metal-enabled energy generators for self-powered soft bioelectronics
摘要
Liquid metal-enabled energy generators (LMEGs) have emerged as promising technology for self-powered bioelectronics, offering an efficient solution to the challenges of power consumption in soft electronics. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the properties and process of liquid metals (LMs), focusing on their use in soft bioelectronics. We then discuss various types of LMEGs, including triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs), electromagnetic generators (EMGs), hydrovoltaic generators (HEGs), thermoelectric generators (TEGs), and photovoltaic electric generators (PEGs), highlighting their recent research advancements. The unique properties of LMEGs make them ideal for integrating energy harvesting or self-powered sensing components into bioelectronics. Next, we provide a comprehensive summary of recent applications of LMEGs in wearable power sources, self-powered smart sensing, and biomedical devices. Finally, we outline future research directions, emphasizing the active roles and low-temperature operation of LMEGs, the broader adoption of self-healing capabilities, the advancement of functionalized LM–polymer composites, and system-level integration for practical applications.
Graphic abstract