Fully inkjet-printed Ag2Se flexible thermoelectric devices for sustainable power generation

Yan Liu; Qihao Zhang; Aibin Huang; Keyi Zhang; Shun Wan; Hongyi Chen; Yuntian Fu; Wusheng Zuo; Yongzhe Wang; Xun Cao; Lianjun Wang; Uli Lemmer; Wan Jiang

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-46183-1

Fully inkjet-printed Ag₂Se flexible thermoelectric devices for sustainable power generation

Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 8;15(1):2141. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46183-1.

Authors

Yan Liu^#¹, Qihao Zhang^#², Aibin Huang^#^{3

4}, Keyi Zhang¹, Shun Wan⁵, Hongyi Chen⁶, Yuntian Fu¹, Wusheng Zuo¹, Yongzhe Wang^{3

4}, Xun Cao^{7

8}, Lianjun Wang^{9

10}, Uli Lemmer^{11

12}, Wan Jiang^{13

14}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China.
² Light Technology Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Engesserstrasse 13, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany. qihao.zhang@kit.edu.
³ State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200050, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
⁵ Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR), 201203, Shanghai, China.
⁶ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, 410083, Changsha, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200050, Shanghai, China. cxun@mail.sic.ac.cn.
⁸ Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China. cxun@mail.sic.ac.cn.
⁹ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China. wanglj@dhu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China. wanglj@dhu.edu.cn.
¹¹ Light Technology Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Engesserstrasse 13, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany.
¹² Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
¹³ State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China. wanjiang@dhu.edu.cn.
¹⁴ Institute of Functional Materials, Donghua University, 201620, Shanghai, China. wanjiang@dhu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Flexible thermoelectric devices show great promise as sustainable power units for the exponentially increasing self-powered wearable electronics and ultra-widely distributed wireless sensor networks. While exciting proof-of-concept demonstrations have been reported, their large-scale implementation is impeded by unsatisfactory device performance and costly device fabrication techniques. Here, we develop Ag₂Se-based thermoelectric films and flexible devices via inkjet printing. Large-area patterned arrays with microscale resolution are obtained in a dimensionally controlled manner by manipulating ink formulations and tuning printing parameters. Printed Ag₂Se-based films exhibit (00 l)-textured feature, and an exceptional power factor (1097 μWm^-1K^-2 at 377 K) is obtained by engineering the film composition and microstructure. Benefiting from high-resolution device integration, fully inkjet-printed Ag₂Se-based flexible devices achieve a record-high normalized power (2 µWK^-2cm^-2) and superior flexibility. Diverse application scenarios are offered by inkjet-printed devices, such as continuous power generation by harvesting thermal energy from the environment or human bodies. Our strategy demonstrates the potential to revolutionize the design and manufacture of multi-scale and complex flexible thermoelectric devices while reducing costs, enabling them to be integrated into emerging electronic systems as sustainable power sources.

Abstract

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