Highly Integrable Thermoelectric Fiber
Haifeng Xu, Yang Guo, Bo Wu, Chengyi Hou, Qinghong Zhang, Yaogang Li, Hongzhi Wang
Abstract
The integration of thermoelectric (TE) device on fabrics is a challenge. Instead of using adhesive tape to fix traditional filmlike TE devices onto the fabrics, which sacrifices the breathability of fabrics, here we report a flexible TE fiber based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/tellurium nanowires (Te NWs) composites, which can be woven and integrated into the fabric directly. The TE fibers have a tunable content and orientation of Te NWs and also the potential to be scaled up based on the wet-spinning process. The TE fibers exhibit desirable wearable TE performances, including high power factor (78.1 μW m–1 K–2), high mass-specific power (9.48 μW g–1), excellent mechanical flexibility, and superior integrability.