Flexible thermoelectric generator with high Seebeck coefficients made from polymer composites and heat-sink fabrics

Lin, S. et al. (2022) Flexible thermoelectric generator with high Seebeck coefficients made from polymer composites and heat-sink fabrics. Communications Materials, 3, 44. (doi: 10.1038/s43246-022-00263-1)

Abstract

Light and flexible thermoelectric generators working around room temperature and within a small temperature range are much desirable for numerous applications of wearable microelectronics, internet of things, and waste heat recovery. Herein, we report a high performance flexible thermoelectric generator made of polymeric thermoelectric composites and heat sink fabrics. The thermoelectric composites comprise n- and p-type Bi2Te3 particles and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate, exhibiting a synergic effect that results in Seebeck coefficients higher than those of the constituent alloys and conductive polymer. The flexible and light thermoelectric generator produces an output power of 9.0 mW, a specific output power of 2.3 mW/g, and an areal power density of 6.5 W/m2 at ΔT = 45 K. By using the heat sink fabrics to maintain a large and uniform distribution of temperature difference across the generator, a three-fold increment of the output power is obtained.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lam, Dr Koko
• Authors: Lin, S., Zhang, L., Zeng, W., Shi, D., Liu, S., Ding, X., Yang, B., Liu, J., Lam, K.-h., Huang, B., and Tao, X.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Communications Materials
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2662-4443
• ISSN (Online): 2662-4443
• Published Online: 07 July 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s) 2022
• First Published: First published in Communications Materials 3: 44
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License