Energy Interplay in Materials: Unlocking Next‐Generation Synchronous Multisource Energy Conversion with Layered 2D Crystals

Abstract

Layered 2D crystals have unique properties and rich chemical and electronic diversity, with over 6000 2D crystals known and, in principle, millions of different stacked hybrid 2D crystals accessible. This diversity provides unique combinations of properties that can profoundly affect the future of energy conversion and harvesting devices. Notably, this includes catalysts, photovoltaics, superconductors, solar‐fuel generators, and piezoelectric devices that will receive broad commercial uptake in the near future. However, the unique properties of layered 2D crystals are not limited to individual applications and they can achieve exceptional performance in multiple energy conversion applications synchronously. This synchronous multisource energy conversion (SMEC) has yet to be fully realized but offers a real game‐changer in how devices will be produced and utilized in the future. This perspective highlights the energy interplay in materials and its impact on energy conversion, how SMEC devices can be realized, particularly through layered 2D crystals, and provides a vision of the future of effective environmental energy harvesting devices with layered 2D crystals.

Engineering Polymer Interfaces: A Review toward Controlling Triboelectric Surface Charge

“…Developing pathways and materials that efficiently convert ambient energy from the environment into electricity is critical to DOI: 10.1002/admi.202300323 powering distributed sensing networks, wearable and implantable electronics, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. [1] Mechanical and kinetic motions exist everywhere in our society, from human movement, blood flow, railway vibrations, car vibrations, rain fall bicycle motion, geological activity, or even simply water flowing through pipes. This abundance of motion has led to an explosion of research in smallscale mechanical energy harvesters.…”

“…Adding functionality where a certain material can also harvest heat and/or light can also boost energy generation and reduce energy loss. [1] Generally, such harvesting is practical to autonomously power low-energy devices (μW-mW). To Common electrical devices and their approximate power consumption.…”

Tribovoltaic Performance of TiO2 Thin Films: Crystallinity, Contact Metal, and Thermoelectric Effects

“…This red shift of the main E g band is attributed to phonon confinement, usually seen for ultrafine nanoparticles. 2 The anatase bands were also shifted with respect to the reference values found in the literature (399, 513, and 639 cm −1 ), 3 indicating the distortion of the anatase crystalline lattice. This indicates the polycrystalline nature of the produced thin films.…”

“…1 These devices require efficient sources of energy, from a combination of energy storage and energyharvesting technologies. 2 Mechanical energy harvesters have been proposed as ideal candidates to power such IoT devices, harvesting vibrational energy from the urban environment. 3 The key advantage of mechanical energy harvesters is their ability to produce energy in the absence of light; thus, integration into a fully enclosed infrastructure (such as the walls of buildings or the interior of pipes) is feasible.…”

“…The Internet of Things (IoT) will connect over 30 billion devices by 2025 . These devices require efficient sources of energy, from a combination of energy storage and energy-harvesting technologies . Mechanical energy harvesters have been proposed as ideal candidates to power such IoT devices, harvesting vibrational energy from the urban environment .…”