Edible electronics offer a unique platform for developing devices made entirely from food-based materials that can be safely digested or excreted without environmental concerns. Yet, identifying semiconductors that are both food-based and capable of supporting efficient charge transport remains a challenge. In this work, we show that this hurdle can be overcome by applying structure-property insights developed in organic electronics to natural compounds, revealing how a material previously discarded for electronic applications and largely present in vegetables, β-carotene, can be tuned into a viable semiconductor. Beyond its implications for edible electronics, this approach also highlights the broader potential of renewable, nature-derived materials as building blocks for sustainable technologies.
Scaccabarozzi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.