Wearable Biofuel Cells: Advances from Fabrication to Application

The booming field of wearable devices has nourished progress in developing multifunctional wearable energy sources that can withstand deformations while maintaining their electrochemical functions. Unlike energy storage systems such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors, wearable biofuel cells (w-BFCs) generate green electricity from energy-dense carbon-neutral fuels via highly efficient bioelectrochemical reactions, delivering excellent biocompatibility, remarkable environmental sustainability, and exceptional capability of miniaturization. These desirable merits give w-BFCs great potential in the field of wearable applications. Moreover, emerging studies of w-BFCs in self-powered biosensing, controlled drug delivery, and wound dressings have greatly expanded their possible fields of application. Recent progress and strategies to accomplish flexible and stretchable w-BFCs are summarized here. Novel materials and configurations with tailored features that can be employed to fabricate w-BFCs are elaborated and discussed. Current applications and near-future applications of w-BFCs in health-monitoring and medical treatment fields are outlined. Furthermore, challenges and perspectives regarding this emerging field of materials science and engineering are also emphasized.