Solar Harvesting Biodegradable Photonic Smart Labels for Mobile Sensing and the Internet of Things (IoT)

Sensors play a key role in the Internet of Things (IoT) providing monitoring inside and outside the communication networks in a multitude of parameters¹. The coupling of optical sensors to smartphones appears as an exciting and affordable strategy to sustainably convert a signal from an optical sensor network into a digital data sequence for the new generation of mobile optical (mOptical) sensing^1,2. The opportunity of using luminescent natural renewable materials for smart labels will be addressed, in line with the increasing demand for natural products and underpinned by the recent policies to reduce the environmental impact of industrial processes and products when integrated into a smart and low-waste chain of different products or within a circular economy approach. Using the concept of colored multiplexed QR codes, bio-based inks will be used to design smart IoT devices to track and sense in real-time² and to address temperature monitoring in buildings³, in which photonic sensors under the configuration of luminescent solar concentrators appear as a solution to integrate energy-generating devices in windows or façades.<br/><br/>Ramalho et al., "Lanthanides for the new generation of optical sensing and Internet of Things", Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths, doi:10.1016/bs.hpcre.2021.12.001<br/>2. Dias et al., "Smart Optical Sensors for Internet of Things: Integration of Temperature Monitoring and Customized Security Physical Unclonable Functions," IEEE Access, 10, 24433-24443, 2022, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3153051<br/>3. Correia et al., "Bio-Based Solar Energy Harvesting for Onsite Mobile Optical Temperature Sensing in Smart Cities", Adv. Sci. 2022, 2104801. doi: 10.1002/advs.202104801<br/><br/>Acknowledgements: CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020, UIDP/50011/2023, LA/P/0006/2023), Instituto de Telecomunicações (UIDB/50008/2020, UIDP/50008/2020); FCT/MEC, FEDER, PT2020. LMS Dias was supported by 2020.05802.BD. GK acknowledges the financial support through BD/REITORIA/9328/2020.