Flexible, Self-powered Thermoelectric Module for Body-heat Recovery

Conversion of heat into electrical energy using a thermoelectric generator (TEG) will be beneficial for self-powered wearable electronic systems. However, the output power of previously reported flexible TE generator (f-TEG) is too low to meet the requirements of wearable electronic devices. Herein, we report an f-TEG integrated with inorganic TE materials and exhibiting high output power. The proposed TE device has 60 pairs of p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 TE legs, and has an extremely low internal resistance (1.09 omega). This f-TEG possesses good flexibility (with a bending radius of similar to 1 cm) and high output-power density (up to 4.49 mW/cm(2) with a temperature difference of 30 K). To convenience use, a step-up boost voltage converter is integrated with the TEG to convert the low voltage into a high voltage for micro-device to work, it provides a new candidate scheme for self-powered wearable electronic devices. Experiments showed that a LED can be lit up by the f-TEG with a boost circuit. There results demonstrate that the proposed f-TEG provides ultrahigh output power density and integrated self-powered devices, can be used to powering low-power electronics and sensors through heat harvesting.