Piezoelectricity in Self-Assembled Peptides: A New Way towards Electricity Generation at Nanoscale

Self-assembled nanostructured peptides are of great interest nowadays due to their biocompatibility and an array of outstanding functional properties. Among them, strong piezoelectricity combined with low dielectric constant is beneficial for high voltage and power generation at the nanoscale. This Chapter is an overview of the piezoelectric phenomena in self-assembled peptides including effects of the growth conditions, self-assembly, and measurement techniques on their functional response as well as the origin of strong piezoelectricity in this material. The current status of electrical energy harvesting in self-assembled peptides useful for biomedical applications along with the challenges and perspectives for using these piezoelectric biomaterials will be discussed. This Chapter is expected to provide a guidance towards future design and application of novel functional self-assembled materials based on nanostructured peptides

Filling carbon nanotubes with magnetic particles

Magnetic carbon nanotube composites were obtained by filling carbon nanotubes with paramagnetic iron oxide particles. Measurements indicate that these functionalized nanotubes are superparamagnetic at room temperature. Details about the production and characterization of these materials are described along with the experimental procedures employed. These magnetic carbon nanotubes have the potential to be used in a wide range of applications, in particular, the production of nanofluids, which can be controlled by appropriate magnetic fields

Triboelectric Generator Based on Oriented Self-Assembled Peptide Microbelts

Along with piezoelectric nanogenerators, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) collecting energy from mechanical vibrations proved to be simple, low-cost, and efficient sources of electricity for various applications. In view of possible biomedical applications, the search for TENGs made of biomolecular and biocompatible materials is demanding. Diphenylalanine (FF) microstructures are promising for these applications due to their unique characteristics and ability to form various morphologies (microribbons, spherical vesicles, fibrils, micro- and nanotubes, nanorods, etc.). In this work, we developed a contact-separate mode TENG based on arrays of oriented FF microbelts deposited by dip-coating technique and studied their performance under various temperature treatments. We show that these TENGs outperform piezoelectric nanogenerators based on FF microbelts in terms of short-circuit current (ISC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), and output power. It was found that bound water captured in FF nanochannels mainly affects VOC, whereas mobile water increases ISC. We also found that the cyclization of FF molecules increases the performance of TENG likely due to an increase in surface energy and surface flattening

Ferroelectricity in glycine: A mini-review

Glycine is the simplest natural amino acid, a basic building block for various biomaterials. Supramolecular packing of glycine molecules into three main crystalline polymorphs allows controlling their functional properties, such as piezoelectricity and ferroelectricity. Though piezoelectricity in glycine is well studied and reviewed, its ferroelectric properties were not summarized and analyzed until now. In this mini-review, we briefly discuss glycine polymorphs, their functional properties, and phase transitions, review recent findings on domain structure and polarization switching in β- and γ-glycine, and consider their possible applications in biocompatible photonic and piezoelectric devices. </p

Diphenylalanine-based microribbons for piezoelectric applications via inkjet printing

\u3cp\u3ePeptide-based nanostructures are very promising for nanotechnological applications because of their excellent self-assembly properties, biological and chemical flexibility, and unique multifunctional performance. However, one of the limiting factors for the integration of peptide assemblies into functional devices is poor control of their alignment and other geometrical parameters required for device fabrication. In this work, we report a novel method for the controlled deposition of one of the representative self-assembled peptides - diphenylalanine (FF) - using a commercial inkjet printer. The initial FF solution, which has been shown to readily self-assemble into different structures such as nano- and microtubes and microrods, was modified to be used as an efficient ink for the printing of aligned FF-based structures. Furthermore, during the development of the suitable ink, we were able to produce a novel type of FF conformation with high piezoelectric response and excellent stability. By using this method, ribbonlike microcrystals based on FF could be formed and precisely patterned on different surfaces. Possible mechanisms of structure formation and piezoelectric effect in printed microribbons are discussed along with the possible applications.\u3c/p\u3

Diphenylalanine-based microribbons for piezoelectric applications via inkjet printing

Peptide-based nanostructures are very promising for nanotechnological applications because of their excellent self-assembly properties, biological and chemical flexibility, and unique multifunctional performance. However, one of the limiting factors for the integration of peptide assemblies into functional devices is poor control of their alignment and other geometrical parameters required for device fabrication. In this work, we report a novel method for the controlled deposition of one of the representative self-assembled peptides - diphenylalanine (FF) - using a commercial inkjet printer. The initial FF solution, which has been shown to readily self-assemble into different structures such as nano- and microtubes and microrods, was modified to be used as an efficient ink for the printing of aligned FF-based structures. Furthermore, during the development of the suitable ink, we were able to produce a novel type of FF conformation with high piezoelectric response and excellent stability. By using this method, ribbonlike microcrystals based on FF could be formed and precisely patterned on different surfaces. Possible mechanisms of structure formation and piezoelectric effect in printed microribbons are discussed along with the possible applications

Chirality-dependent growth of self-assembled diphenylalanine microtubes

The difference in the crystal structure and growth kinetics of microtubes formed from l- and d-enantiomers of diphenylalanine dipeptide is investigated both experimentally and theoretically by computer simulation. The microtubes of l- and d-enantiomers grown simultaneously and under identical experimental conditions possess different crystallographic space groups, have essential difference in sizes, and demonstrate different growth kinetics. Computer simulation by molecular mechanics methods revealed a fundamental difference in the interaction between structural units of microtubes of different chiralities. A model describing chirality-dependent growth of microtubes is proposed