Energy Harvesting Technology for Self-Powered Sensing and Systems

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the rapid advancement of energy harvesters, self-powered sensors, and intelligent systems has driven a paradigm shift in the field of low-power electronics and battery-less systems, particularly with the accelerating integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, and wearable/implantable devices. As the demand for autonomous, long-lifespan, and maintenance-free systems continues to surge across various fields, such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, smart agriculture, and industrial IoT, the limitations of traditional battery-powered solutions—including limited lifespan, frequent replacement, and environmental pollution—have become increasingly prominent. Energy harvesting technology, which enables the capture and conversion of ubiquitous ambient energies (e.g., mechanical vibration, thermal gradient, solar irradiation, radio frequency (RF) waves, and biochemical energy) into usable electrical energy, has emerged as a core enabling technology to address these challenges. Recent research advances in this field have focused on breaking through key bottlenecks, including the development of high-efficiency energy transducers, multi-energy synergetic harvesting strategies, flexible/stretchable integration with soft electronics, and low-power management circuits tailored for self-powered systems. Notably, the integration of nanomaterial-based energy harvesters (e.g., piezoelectric/triboelectric nanogenerators, thermoelectric nanodevices) with advanced sensing units has realized self-powered sensors with ultra-low power consumption, high sensitivity, and long-term stability, paving the way for the commercialization of autonomous sensing systems.

Accordingly, this Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research papers and comprehensive review articles focusing on the latest advances, challenges, and future trends in energy harvesting technology for self-powered sensing and systems. We particularly welcome contributions that address novel energy harvesting mechanisms, high-performance transducer design and fabrication, multi-energy integration strategies, power management circuit optimization, and practical applications of self-powered sensing systems in various fields, such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, smart IoT, and wearable electronics.

Prof. Dr. Qiongfeng Shi
Prof. Dr. Huicong Liu
Dr. Junrui Liang
Dr. Guobiao Hu
Guest Editors

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