High-performance, flexible thermoelectric generator based on bulk materials

• Published in: Cell reports physical science Vol. 3; no. 3; p. 100780
• Main Authors: Xu, Qian, Deng, Biao, Zhang, Lenan, Lin, Shaoting, Han, Zhijia, Zhou, Qing, Li, Jun, Zhu, Yongbin, Jiang, Feng, Li, Qikai, Zhang, Pengxiang, Zhang, Xinbo, Chen, Gang, Liu, Weishu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 16.03.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: flexible thermoelectric generator; power generation; thermal design; wearable device; wearable device; power generation; flexible thermoelectric generator; thermal design
• ISSN: 2666-3864; 2666-3864
• DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2022.100780

Flexible thermoelectric generators (f-TEGs) are promising solutions to power supply for wearable devices. However, the high fabrication costs and low output power density of conventional f-TEGs limit their applications. Here, we present a bulk-material-based f-TEG featuring multifunctional copper electrodes for heat concentration and dissipation and fabrics for comfort and heat-leakage reduction. When worn on the forehead, our f-TEG’s maximum output power density (based on the device’s area) reaches 48 μW/cm2 at a wind speed of 2 m/s and an ambient temperature of 15°C. A light-emitting diode (LED) powered by our f-TEG headband with 100 pairs of thermoelectric pillars can illuminate a paper for reading in a dark room at 17.5°C without an external heat sink or forced convection at the cold side. This work provides a general design approach for high-performance f-TEGs at a low cost. The device-level perspectives fill the critical knowledge gap between state-of-the-art material innovations and practical thermoelectric applications. [Display omitted] •A mushroom-like f-TEG achieves high output power density on human skin•The copper electrodes also serve as heat concentrators and spreaders and spacers•An analytical model is developed to predict an f-TEG’s energy-harvesting performance Xu et al. report an f-TEG featuring a mushroom-like structure that achieves high output power density on human skin without external heat sink via thermal design. The work provides an example of the design process of f-TEGs and paves the pathway toward scalable fabrication of low-cost and high-performance f-TEGs.