Flexible thermoelectric generator with high Seebeck coefficients made from polymer composites and heat-sink fabrics
Shuping Lin, Lisha Zhang, Wei Xue, Dongliang Shi, Su Liu, Xujiao Ding, Bao Yang, Jin Liu, Kwok Ho Lam, Baolin Huang, Xiaoming Tao
Abstract
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 Bi 2 Te 3 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/m 2 at Δ T = 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.