Anionic entanglement-induced giant thermopower in ionic thermoelectric material Gelatin-CF3SO3K–CH3SO3K
Qikai Li,
Cheng-Gong Han,
Shuaihua Wang,
Cai-Chao Ye,
Xinbo Zhang,
Xiao Ma,
Tao Feng,
Yuchen Li,
Weishu Liu
Affiliations
Qikai Li
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road 999077, Hong Kong, China
Cheng-Gong Han
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Center for Advanced Analytical Science, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Sensing Materials and Devices, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Photoelectric Sensing Materials and Devices, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Shuaihua Wang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Cai-Chao Ye
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
Xinbo Zhang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Xiao Ma
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Tao Feng
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Yuchen Li
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Weishu Liu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China; Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Novel Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Corresponding author.
Ionic thermoelectric (i-TE) technologies can power Internet of Things (IoT) sensors by harvesting thermal energy from the environment because of their large thermopowers. Present research focuses mostly on using the interactions between ions and matrices to enhance i-TE performance, but i-TE materials can benefit from utilizing different methods to control ion transport. Here, we introduced a new strategy that employs an ion entanglement effect. A giant thermopower of 28 mV K−1 was obtained in a quasi-solid-state i-TE Gelatin-CF3SO3K–CH3SO3K gel via entanglement between CF3SO3− and CH3SO3− anions. The anionic entanglement effect involves complex interactions between these two anions, slowing anionic thermodiffusion and thus suppressing bipolar effects and boosting p-type thermopower. A Au@Cu | Gelatin-CF3SO3K–CH3SO3K | Au@Cu i-TE device with a generator mode delivers a specific output energy density of 67.2 mJ m−2 K−2 during 2 h of discharging. Long-term operation of the i-TE generator for 10 days shows that the harvested energy density offers an average of 2 J m−2 per day in a cyclic working-reactivation model at a temperature difference of 6 K. The results demonstrate that anionic entanglement is an effective strategy for achieving giant thermopower with i-TE gels, so they have excellent potential for powering IoT sensors.
