Designed biomass materials for “green” electronics: A review of materials, fabrications, devices, and perspectives

“Green” electronics are increasingly in demand to alleviate environmental pollution caused by electronic wastes. Biomass materials derived from natural resources, such as lignocellulose and chitin, are ideal building blocks for “green” electronics because they are abundant, renewable, biodegradable, thermostable, and can be feasibly modified. However, the complexity in structure and components, inherent hydrophilicity, lack of functionality (e.g., conductivity) of most biomass materials restricts their applications in electronics. To meet the requirement for applications in electronics, designed biomass materials with tailored properties have received considerable attention over the past decade and great progress has been made. This review firstly highlights two main biomass materials: cellulose and chitin. Then, the strategies of designing one-, two- and three-dimensional biomass materials via physical, chemical, biological, and surface- and interface-engineered treatment methods, and the properties of the resulting materials are summarized in detail. After that, recent advances in the use of designed biomass materials to develop “green” electronics, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), solar cells (SCs), printed electronics (PEs), and thin-film transistors (TFTs) are reviewed. Finally, an overview of the remaining challenges and perspectives in the field of biomass-based “green” electronics is provided.