Abstract
Flexible thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are often built with a polymer filler as structural support. However, the filler may serve as a thermal bypass, leading to reduced temperature difference across a TEM and degradation of the output. Herein, we present flexible TEMs made of porous PDMS fillers and Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric legs. The heat conduction through the filler is suppressed by leveraging the low thermal conductivity of porous PDMS (0.08 W/m∙K), leading to an increase in the temperature difference across the TEMs. The porous PDMS TEM exhibits 23% enhanced power density and a figure of merit (ZT) of 0.75 around the room temperature. Lastly, the efficacy of the porous PDMS TEM is demonstrated by testing the TEMs with body heat. Our approach would offer a promising insight into the flexible TEM designs.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 105604 |
Journal | Nano Energy |
Volume | 81 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2021 |
Keywords
- BiTe
- Filler thickness
- Flexible thermoelectric module
- Low thermal conductivity
- Porous PDMS filler
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Materials Science(all)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering