Minimalistic Peptide Assemblies for Sustainable Optoelectronics

Minimalistic peptides can self-assemble to form diverse supramolecular architectures with tunable optoelectronic properties, thus showing promising applications in various optical fields and have been attracting increasing research interest. After dozens of years development, the studies on optoelectronic self-assembling peptides have been extensively reported, and significant progresses have been achieved. In this chapter, we summarize the recent advancements in the studies of the photoactive minimalistic peptides, focusing on their intrinsic quantum-confined photoluminescence, electroluminescence, and optical waveguiding, along with diverse modulation strategies on the optoelectronic performances. The numerous advantages of the self-assembling optoelectronic bioinspired architectures, such as eco-friendliness, morphological and functional flexibility, and ease of preparation and modification, endow them with potential capabilities as next-generation bioorganic photoactive materials. Considering the incessant studying and increasing amount of publications, the photoactive self-assembling minimalistic peptides may bridge the gap between the optics world and the field of nanobiotechnology, thus providing alternative ideas and directions for the development of sustainable optoelectronics.