<p>The growing demand for sustainable energy conversion, storage, and environmental remediation solutions has driven researchers toward materials that simultaneously deliver higher performance, greater durability, and lower environmental footprints. Conventional synthetic approaches, while widely used, often suffer from sluggish transport kinetics, mechanical fragility, and high embodied energy. Here, inspired by biological systems refined through 3.8&#xa0;billion years of evolution, bioinspired materials are unlocking unprecedented capabilities across multiple domains. Benefiting from the uniqueness of these nature-derived architectures ranging from virus-templated nanostructures and coral-like hierarchies to wood-aligned channels, nacre-mimetic layers, and aquaporin-inspired membranes, virus-templated solar cells now reach 10.6% efficiency, thylakoid-mimetic systems achieve 3.1% with 580&#xa0;fs charge separation, bacterial nanowires deliver 307 µW cm<sup>− 2</sup> power density, coral-inspired supercapacitors attain 1661&#xa0;F g<sup>− 1</sup> with 97% rate retention, nacre-mimetic electrolytes increase fracture toughness 3.1-fold while suppressing dendrites, pollen-inspired hollow structures retain 78–82% capacity after 500 cycles, hydrogenase-mimetic catalysts exhibit 2750&#xa0;h<sup>− 1</sup> turnover frequency, and aquaporin-inspired designs enable 100&#xa0;h continuous CO<sub>2</sub> reduction at pH 1.0 with 60% energy efficiency; meanwhile, mucus-mimetic filters provide 25-fold adhesion enhancement, corn-based biodegradable media realize 99.9994% PM<sub>0.3</sub> removal at 45&#xa0;Pa, and MOF-COF hybrids achieve 99.8% tetracycline degradation alongside 1447 mg g<sup>− 1</sup> adsorption capacity. Life-cycle assessments further confirm their edge, with agricultural waste-derived bioinspired materials requiring only 5–10&#xa0;MJ kg<sup>− 1</sup> of embodied energy, versus 50–80&#xa0;MJ kg<sup>− 1</sup> for synthetic frameworks, and demonstrating 14-day biodegradability. This review presents a design philosophy for bioinspired materials that are advancing from simple structural mimicry to full functional mastery, from laboratory demonstrations to emerging commercial relevance, and from performance optimization to complete lifecycle accountability.</p>

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Unlocking the Potential of Bioinspired Materials: Advances in Sustainable Energy and Environmental Remediation

  • Mohammed Rouinkou,
  • Xiufeng Wang,
  • Xiaoxue Jin,
  • Hajar Ech-chajiy,
  • Ma Ben,
  • Noureddine Blidi

摘要

The growing demand for sustainable energy conversion, storage, and environmental remediation solutions has driven researchers toward materials that simultaneously deliver higher performance, greater durability, and lower environmental footprints. Conventional synthetic approaches, while widely used, often suffer from sluggish transport kinetics, mechanical fragility, and high embodied energy. Here, inspired by biological systems refined through 3.8 billion years of evolution, bioinspired materials are unlocking unprecedented capabilities across multiple domains. Benefiting from the uniqueness of these nature-derived architectures ranging from virus-templated nanostructures and coral-like hierarchies to wood-aligned channels, nacre-mimetic layers, and aquaporin-inspired membranes, virus-templated solar cells now reach 10.6% efficiency, thylakoid-mimetic systems achieve 3.1% with 580 fs charge separation, bacterial nanowires deliver 307 µW cm− 2 power density, coral-inspired supercapacitors attain 1661 F g− 1 with 97% rate retention, nacre-mimetic electrolytes increase fracture toughness 3.1-fold while suppressing dendrites, pollen-inspired hollow structures retain 78–82% capacity after 500 cycles, hydrogenase-mimetic catalysts exhibit 2750 h− 1 turnover frequency, and aquaporin-inspired designs enable 100 h continuous CO2 reduction at pH 1.0 with 60% energy efficiency; meanwhile, mucus-mimetic filters provide 25-fold adhesion enhancement, corn-based biodegradable media realize 99.9994% PM0.3 removal at 45 Pa, and MOF-COF hybrids achieve 99.8% tetracycline degradation alongside 1447 mg g− 1 adsorption capacity. Life-cycle assessments further confirm their edge, with agricultural waste-derived bioinspired materials requiring only 5–10 MJ kg− 1 of embodied energy, versus 50–80 MJ kg− 1 for synthetic frameworks, and demonstrating 14-day biodegradability. This review presents a design philosophy for bioinspired materials that are advancing from simple structural mimicry to full functional mastery, from laboratory demonstrations to emerging commercial relevance, and from performance optimization to complete lifecycle accountability.