Flexible thermoelectric fibers for wearables maintain stable energy performance even in extreme environments

Schematic diagram and actual images of an all-inorganic flexible thermoelectric yarn made without the use of polymer additives. Credit: KAIST
A team of South Korean researchers has developed a thermoelectric material that can be used in wearable devices such as smart clothing and maintains stable thermal energy performance even in extreme environments. This dramatically solved the long-standing problem in the field of thermoelectric materials, the dilemma of balancing thermoelectric material performance with mechanical flexibility, and demonstrated the possibility of practical application.
Joint research between the research team of Professor Yong Sik Chung of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Park In-gyu of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the research team of Professor Oh Min-wook and Dr. Jun-ho of the National Hanbat University. Mr. Jeong of the Korea Institute of Mechanical Materials Research. has successfully developed a bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) thermoelectric fiber, an innovative energy harvesting solution for next-generation flexible electronic devices.
The research is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Thermoelectric materials are materials that generate voltage when there is a temperature difference, converting thermal energy into electrical energy. Currently, approximately 70% of energy lost is waste heat, and research into sustainable energy materials that can recover and recover energy from this waste heat is attracting attention.
Most of the heat sources around us, such as the human body, car exhaust pipes, and cooling fins, have curved surfaces. Inorganic thermoelectric materials based on ceramics boast high thermoelectric performance, but are brittle and difficult to fabricate into curved shapes. On the other hand, existing flexible thermoelectric materials using polymer binders can be applied to surfaces of various shapes, but their performance has been limited by the low electrical conductivity and high thermal resistance of polymers.
Existing flexible thermoelectric materials contain polymer additives, but the inorganic thermoelectric material developed by the research team is not flexible, so instead of using additives, nanoribbons are twisted together to create thread-like thermoelectric materials. We have overcome these limitations.
Inspired by the flexibility of inorganic nanoribbons, the research team used a nanomold-based electron beam evaporation technique to continuously deposit nanoribbons and twist them into threads to create bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) inorganic thermoelectric fibers. created.
This inorganic thermoelectric fiber has higher bending strength than existing thermoelectric materials, and its electrical properties hardly changed even after repeated bending and tensile tests over 1,000 times. The thermoelectric device created by the research team uses temperature differences to generate electricity, and if clothing is made from fibrous thermoelectric devices, it could be used to generate electricity from body heat to power other electronic devices.
In fact, demonstration experiments in which thermoelectric fibers were embedded in life jackets and clothing to recover energy demonstrated the feasibility of practical application. Furthermore, it has opened up the possibility of constructing a highly efficient energy harvesting system that reuses waste heat by utilizing the temperature difference between the hot fluid inside pipes at industrial sites and the cold air outside.
Professor Jeong Yong-sik said, “The inorganic flexible thermoelectric material developed in this research can be used in wearable devices such as smart clothing, and it can maintain stable performance even in extreme environments, so it is likely to be put into practical use through further research. ” he said. future. “
Professor Park In-gyu said, “This technology will become the core of next-generation energy harvesting technology, and is expected to play an important role in a variety of fields, from waste heat utilization in industrial sites to personal wearable self-power generation devices.” ” he added.
Further information: Hanhwi Jang et al., Flexible All-Inorganic Thermoelectric Yarns, Advanced Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202408320
Source: Flexible thermoelectric fibers for wearables maintain stable energy performance in extreme environments (October 22, 2024) https://phys.org/news/2024-10-flexible-thermoelectric-fibers-wearables- Retrieved October 22, 2024 from stable.html
This document is subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced without written permission, except in fair dealing for personal study or research purposes. Content is provided for informational purposes only.