Flexible Thermoelectric Materials for Wearable Energy Harvesting Engineering

Ruicheng Xu

doi:10.54097/bw6qdw67

Authors

Ruicheng Xu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/bw6qdw67

Keywords:

Flexible TE materials, wearable devices, carbon nanotubes.

Abstract

In recent years, flexible thermoelectric (TE) materials have shown broad application prospects in the field of wearable electronics due to their unique energy conversion properties and mechanical flexibility. This article reviews the latest research progress of carbon-based, inorganic, and organic flexible TE materials, focusing on material design, performance optimization, and their applications in wearable devices. Studies have shown that through doping, compounding, and structural regulation, the Seebeck coefficient and power factor of flexible TE materials can be significantly improved, such as polyamide-doped n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes and Bi₂Te₃/PEDOT nanowire composites. The devices that is self-powered developed based on these materials have demonstrated excellent performance in the fields of human body thermal energy harvesting, temperature sensing, and health monitoring, such as high output power (18.5μW), fast response (0.6 seconds), and mechanical stability (stable performance after 1200 bending cycles). In the future, the development of flexible TE materials needs to further address the balance between conversion efficiency and wearing comfort, and promote their practical application through multidisciplinary research.

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