Recycling of human teeth for piezoelectric energy harvesting
Yuanyuan Yin,
Shuaijie Liu,
Yuehui Wang,
Sihan Yang,
Min Ding,
Xiaohui Xu,
Wei Ji,
Jinlin Song
Affiliations
Yuanyuan Yin
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases and Biomedical Sciences, Chongqing Municipal Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Engineering of Higher Education, Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401147, China
Shuaijie Liu
Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Yuehui Wang
Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Sihan Yang
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases and Biomedical Sciences, Chongqing Municipal Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Engineering of Higher Education, Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401147, China
Min Ding
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases and Biomedical Sciences, Chongqing Municipal Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Engineering of Higher Education, Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401147, China
Xiaohui Xu
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases and Biomedical Sciences, Chongqing Municipal Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Engineering of Higher Education, Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401147, China
Wei Ji
Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China; Corresponding authors.
Jinlin Song
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases and Biomedical Sciences, Chongqing Municipal Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Engineering of Higher Education, Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401147, China; Corresponding authors.
In the human body, non-centrosymmetric biological structures exhibit piezoelectric effect across from microscopic biomolecular building blocks to macroscopic tissues and organs. However, the fabrication of piezoelectric devices from discarded natural tissues and organs has rarely been exploited for energy harvesting applications. Herein, the extracted human teeth were recycled as an active layer in a piezoelectric nanogenerator for power generation. Due to the piezoelectric effect of enamel and dentin, a human teeth-based sandwiched piezoelectric nanogenerator was fabricated, producing high and stable power outputs with an open-circuit voltage of approximately 0.9 V under an external force at 60 N. Furthermore, the high mechanical durability of the piezoelectric nanogenerator was also verified after 1600 pressing-and-releasing cycles without noticeable output degradation. Notably, for the first time, a light-emitting diode (LED) was illuminated by the human teeth-based piezoelectric device. This work exemplifies a sustainable strategy to recycle the extracted human teeth by fabricating a piezoelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting, providing inspiration for converting waste into wealth toward green energy in bionanotechnology.
