Power supply is one of the bottlenecks to realizing untethered wearable electronics, soft robotics and the internet of things. Flexible self-charging power sources integrate energy harvesters, power management electronics and energy-storage units on the same platform; they harvest energy from the ambient environment and simultaneously store the generated electricity for consumption. Thus, they enable self-powered, sustainable and maintenance-free soft electronics. However, challenges associated with materials engineering, mechanistic understanding and device design emerge when moving from individual devices to integrated systems for practical applications. In this Review, we discuss various flexible self-charging technologies as power sources, including the combination of flexible solar cells, mechanical energy harvesters, thermoelectrics, biofuel cells and hybrid devices with flexible energy-storage components. We consider exemplary applications of power-source integration in soft electronics. Finally, we provide an overview of the emerging challenges, strategies and opportunities for research and development of flexible self-charging power sources.

电源是实现无线可穿戴电子设备、软机器人和物联网的瓶颈之一。灵活的自充电电源将能量收集器、电源管理电子设备和储能单元集成在同一平台上；它们从周围环境中获取能量，同时存储产生的电力以供消费。因此，它们可以实现自供电、可持续和免维护的软电子产品。然而，当从单个设备转移到实际应用的集成系统时，会出现与材料工程、机械理解和设备设计相关的挑战。在这篇评论中，我们讨论了各种作为电源的柔性自充电技术，包括柔性太阳能电池、机械能收集器、热电、生物燃料电池和具有灵活储能组件的混合设备。我们考虑电源集成在软电子中的示例性应用。最后，我们概述了研究和开发灵活的自充电电源的新挑战、战略和机遇。