
The concept of energy harvesting with flexible thermoelectrics shown with a schematic of aerosol jet printing.
CREDIT: Injung Lee
Nontoxic, nanotube-based thermoelectric generation converts uneven heat distribution from wearables to electrical energy for their next cycle of operation
A wide variety of portable and wearable electronics have become a large part of our daily lives, so a group of Stanford University researchers wondered if these could be powered by harvesting electricity from the waste heat that exists all around us.
Further inspiration came from a desire to ultimately fabricate energy converting devices from the same materials as the active devices themselves, so they can blend in as an integral part of the total system. Today, many biomedical nanodevices’ power supplies come from several types of batteries that must be separated from the active portion of the systems, which is not ideal.
In Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, the researchers report the design and fabrication of single-wall carbon nanotube thermoelectric devices on flexible polyimide substrates as a basis for wearable energy converters.
“Carbon nanotubes are one-dimensional materials, known for good thermoelectric properties, which mean developing a voltage across them in a temperature gradient,” said Eric Pop, a professor of electrical engineering and materials science. “The challenge is that carbon nanotubes also have high thermal conductivity, meaning it’s difficult to maintain a thermal gradient across them, and they have been hard to assemble them into thermoelectric generators at low cost.”
The group uses printed carbon nanotube networks to tackle both challenges.
“For example, carbon nanotube spaghetti networks have much lower thermal conductivity than carbon nanotubes taken alone, due to the presence of junctions in the networks, which block heat flow,” Pop said. “Also, direct printing such carbon nanotube networks can significantly reduce their cost when they are scaled up.”
Thermoelectric devices generate electric power locally “by reusing waste heat from personal devices, appliances, vehicles, commercial and industrial processes, computer servers, time-varying solar illumination, and even the human body,” said Hye Ryoung Lee, lead author and a research scientist.
“To eliminate hindrances to large-scale application of thermoelectric materials — toxicity, materials scarcity, mechanical brittleness — carbon nanotubes offer an excellent alternative to other commonly used materials,” Lee said.
The group’s approach demonstrates a path to using carbon nanotubes with printable electrodes on flexible polymer substrates in a process anticipated to be economical for large-volume manufacturing. It is also “greener” than other processes, because water is used as the solvent and additional dopants are avoided.
Flexible and wearable energy harvesters can be embedded into fabrics or clothes or placed on unusual shapes and form factors.
“In contrast, traditional thermoelectrics that rely on bismuth telluride are brittle and stiff, with limited applications,” Pop said. “Carbon-based thermoelectrics are also more environmentally friendly than those based on rare or toxic materials like bismuth and tellurium.”
The most important concept in the group’s work is to “recycle energy as much as we can, converting uneven heat distribution to electrical energy for use for the next cycle of operation, which we demonstrated by using nontoxic nanotube-based thermoelectric generation,” said Yoshio Nishi, a professor of electrical engineering. “This concept is in full alliance with the world’s goal of reducing our total energy consumption.”
Original Article: Nontoxic, flexible energy converters could power wearable devices
More from: Stanford University
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Flexible energy converters
- Can Porsche Convince Us Synthetic Fuels Are Worth It?
Well, it’s just announced the opening for production of its synthetic fuels plant, which promises to make gasoline out of nothing but clean air and water. A carbon-neutral continuity for internal ...
- The Best Solar Companies in Colorado of 2023
Homeowners in the Centennial State can reap the benefits of clean energy by using one of the best solar companies in Colorado to install a solar panel system.
- Improvements to make and enjoy now that will pay off when you sell your home
Putting off repairs could make the situation worse, and perhaps harder, or impossible, to sell the house later. Unless the structure is a tear down, failing electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems as ...
- Petrofac, Partners Collaborate on Offshore Wind Converter Stations
Dutch-German transmission system operator TenneT, Hitachi Energy and international services company Petrofac have entered into early works agreements in support of TenneT’s 2 GW Programme. Under the ...
- TotalEnergies opens Germany's second LNG import terminal
TotalEnergies says it can meet about 5% of Germany's total demand for natural gas with its new import terminal.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Flexible energy converters
[google_news title=”” keyword=”flexible energy converters” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Nanotube-based thermoelectric generation
- Enabling nanoscale thermoelectrics with a novel organometallic molecular junction
Multinuclear organometallic junctions might be the key to realizing high-performance thermoelectric devices at the nanoscale. The unique electronic structure of organometallic ruthenium alkynyl ...
- Thermoelectric Fan Harvests Wood Stove Heat Junkyard Style
Genius! The video below shows the build, which was not trivial. But we think the end results are worth it, and it reminds us a little of the woodstove generator we featured a while back.
- Sheetak Announces Product Line Expansion with CENTUM® C3 Multi-Stage Cooler Based on Novel Patented Thermoelectric Device Structures
AUSTIN, Texas, January 11, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sheetak is expanding their flagship CENTUM ® product line, based on newly patented thermoelectric device structures, that offer the highest ...
- Thermoelectric Generator Shines Where The Sun Doesn’t
The drearier places on the planet might benefit from this high-power thermoelectric generator (TEG) developed and tested by [TegwynTwmffat] for use on a wood burning stove. The TEG modules ...
- A new method to evaluate thermoelectric materials
Thermoelectric materials use a temperature gradient (DT) to generate electricity. They can be used for power generation by converting heat to electricity (Seebeck method) or refrigeration by ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Nanotube-based thermoelectric generation
[google_news title=”” keyword=”nanotube-based thermoelectric generation” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]