A Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>-Filled Nickel Foam Film with Exceptional Flexibility and Thermoelectric Performance
Taifeng Shi,
Mengran Chen,
Zhenguo Liu,
Qingfeng Song,
Yixiang Ou,
Haoqi Wang,
Jia Liang,
Qihao Zhang,
Zhendong Mao,
Zhiwen Wang,
Jingyvan Zheng,
Qingchen Han,
Kafil M. Razeeb,
Peng-an Zong
Affiliations
Taifeng Shi
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
Mengran Chen
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
Zhenguo Liu
Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University, Ningbo 315103, China
Qingfeng Song
State Key Laboratory of High-Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
Yixiang Ou
Radiation Technology Institute, Beijing Academy of Science and Technology, Beijing 100875, China
Haoqi Wang
Key Laboratory of Beam Technology of Ministry of Education, College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Jia Liang
State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Qihao Zhang
Institute for Metallic Materials, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, 01069 Dresden, Germany
Zhendong Mao
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
Zhiwen Wang
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
Jingyvan Zheng
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
Qingchen Han
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
Kafil M. Razeeb
Micro-Nano Systems Centre, Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Dyke Parade, Lee Maltings, T12 R5CP Cork, Ireland
Peng-an Zong
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
The past decades have witnessed surging demand for wearable electronics, for which thermoelectrics (TEs) are considered a promising self-charging technology, as they are capable of converting skin heat into electricity directly. Bi2Te3 is the most-used TE material at room temperature, due to a high zT of ~1. However, it is different to integrate Bi2Te3 for wearable TEs owing to its intrinsic rigidity. Bi2Te3 could be flexible when made thin enough, but this implies a small electrical and thermal load, thus severely restricting the power output. Herein, we developed a Bi2Te3/nickel foam (NiFoam) composite film through solvothermal deposition of Bi2Te3 nanoplates into porous NiFoam. Due to the mesh structure and ductility of Ni Foam, the film, with a thickness of 160 μm, exhibited a high figure of merit for flexibility, 0.016, connoting higher output. Moreover, the film also revealed a high tensile strength of 12.7 ± 0.04 MPa and a maximum elongation rate of 28.8%. In addition, due to the film’s high electrical conductivity and enhanced Seebeck coefficient, an outstanding power factor of 850 μW m−1 K−2 was achieved, which is among the highest ever reported. A module fabricated with five such n-type legs integrated electrically in series and thermally in parallel showed an output power of 22.8 nW at a temperature gap of 30 K. This work offered a cost-effective avenue for making highly flexible TE films for power supply of wearable electronics by intercalating TE nanoplates into porous and meshed-structure materials.
