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Harvesting waste heat with flexible Bi2Te3 thermoelectric thin film

Author

Listed:
  • Zhuang-Hao Zheng

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Xiao-Lei Shi

    (Queensland University of Technology)

  • Dong-Wei Ao

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Wei-Di Liu

    (The University of Queensland)

  • Meng Li

    (Queensland University of Technology
    The University of Queensland)

  • Liang-Zhi Kou

    (Queensland University of Technology)

  • Yue-Xing Chen

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Fu Li

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Meng Wei

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Guang-Xing Liang

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Ping Fan

    (Shenzhen University)

  • Gao Qing (Max) Lu

    (University of Surrey)

  • Zhi-Gang Chen

    (Queensland University of Technology)

Abstract

Thermoelectric materials offer the possibility of harvesting huge amounts of waste heat, such as vehicle exhaust gases, and converting them directly into useful electricity, a process that generates power more sustainably. Flexible thermoelectrics have emerged as a technology to power wearable electronics and sensors, although coupling of thermoelectric performance and flexibility remains a big challenge. Here, we show a Bi2Te3 thin-film design that features high thermoelectric performance (room-temperature figure of merit ZT of ~1.2) and high flexibility (surviving 2,000 bending tests at an 8 mm bending radius). The favourable combination of high performance and flexibility is rooted in the textured structure of the film on the (00l) plane. The assembled flexible device from 40 pairs of thin films exhibits an outstanding output power density of 2.1 mW cm−2 at a temperature gradient of 64 K, demonstrating potential application in harvesting thermal energy from the environment or human bodies.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhuang-Hao Zheng & Xiao-Lei Shi & Dong-Wei Ao & Wei-Di Liu & Meng Li & Liang-Zhi Kou & Yue-Xing Chen & Fu Li & Meng Wei & Guang-Xing Liang & Ping Fan & Gao Qing (Max) Lu & Zhi-Gang Chen, 2023. "Harvesting waste heat with flexible Bi2Te3 thermoelectric thin film," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(2), pages 180-191, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:6:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1038_s41893-022-01003-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-01003-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Decheng An & Senhao Zhang & Xin Zhai & Wutao Yang & Riga Wu & Huaide Zhang & Wenhao Fan & Wenxian Wang & Shaoping Chen & Oana Cojocaru-Mirédin & Xian-Ming Zhang & Matthias Wuttig & Yuan Yu, 2024. "Metavalently bonded tellurides: the essence of improved thermoelectric performance in elemental Te," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Zhang, Mingcheng & Liu, Ying & Li, Jiajia & Wu, Changxuan & Wang, Zixing & Liu, Yuexin & Wei, Ping & Zhao, Wenyu & Cai, Kefeng, 2024. "Scalable printing high-performance and self-healable Ag2Se/terpineol nanocomposite film for flexible thermoelectric device," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    3. Feng, Mengqi & Lv, Song & Deng, Jingcai & Guo, Ying & Wu, Yangyang & Shi, Guoqing & Zhang, Mingming, 2023. "An overview of environmental energy harvesting by thermoelectric generators," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    4. Wei, Wei & Wu, Bo & Guo, Yang & Hu, Yunhao & Liao, Yihui & Wu, Chunmao & Zhang, Qinghong & Li, Yaogang & Chen, Jianhui & Hou, Chengyi & Wang, Hongzhi, 2023. "A multimodal cooling garment for personal thermal comfort management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 352(C).

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