High-Performance Ag2Se Film by a Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Method for Flexible Thermoelectric Generators
Zixing Wang, Ying Liu, Jiajia Li, Changjun Huang, Kefeng Cai
Abstract
Flexible Ag2Se thermoelectric (TE) films are promising for wearable applications near room temperature (RT). Herein, a Ag2Se film on a nylon membrane with high TE performance was fabricated by a facile method. First, Ag2Se powders were prepared by a microwave-assisted synthesis method using Ag nanowires as a template. Second, the Ag2Se powders were deposited onto nylon via vacuum filtration followed by hot pressing. Through modulating the Ag/Se molar ratio for synthesizing the Ag2Se powders, an optimized Ag2Se film demonstrates a high power factor of 1577.1 μW m−1 K−2 and good flexibility at RT. The flexibility of the Ag2Se film is mainly attributed to the flexible nylon membrane. In addition, a six-leg flexible TE generator (f-TEG) fabricated with the optimized Ag2Se film exhibits a maximum power density of 18.4 W m−2 at a temperature difference of 29 K near RT. This work provides a new solution to prepare high-TE-performance flexible Ag2Se films for f-TEGs.