Lin Zhang, Hongjing Shang, Hao Dong, Hongwei Gu and Fazhu Ding
{"title":"超高性能ag2se基柔性热电发电机","authors":"Lin Zhang, Hongjing Shang, Hao Dong, Hongwei Gu and Fazhu Ding","doi":"10.1039/D5EE03009A","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >While flexible thermoelectric materials hold promise for wearable electronics, the low performance of films and the inefficiency of devices fundamentally restrict their practical applications. Herein, we have presented a microstructure engineering strategy to fabricate high-performance Ag<small><sub>2</sub></small>Se films. <em>Via</em> regulation of the grain-growth process, Ag<small><sub>2</sub></small>Se grains with large sizes are obtained, in which the carrier mobility is significantly enhanced to up to ∼1300 cm<small><sup>2</sup></small> V<small><sup>−1</sup></small> s<small><sup>−1</sup></small> at room temperature due to the reduced electron scattering, and low-angle grain boundaries are developed, with the room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity decreasing to 0.26 W m<small><sup>−1</sup></small> K<small><sup>−1</sup></small> because of the increased mid-frequency phonon scattering, thus partially decoupling the electrical and thermal properties. Benefiting from this, a high <em>ZT</em> of 1.15 is achieved at 300 K. Using these films, a flexible and wearable thermoelectric generator incorporating 100 pairs of thermoelectric legs was successfully developed. In the generator, a sputtering Ag buffer layer was introduced to reduce the contact resistance and interfacial reaction. As a result, this thermoelectric generator exhibits an ultra-high normalized power density of ∼9.09 μW m<small><sup>−1</sup></small> K<small><sup>−2</sup></small>, which is also the current record-breaking value among thermoelectric film devices. The superior performance allows the thermoelectric generator to power various portable electronics, including LED lights, wristwatches, and, particularly, smartphones. This work establishes a generalizable framework for developing high-performance and manufacturable thermoelectric materials and devices, narrowing the gap between laboratory breakthroughs and industrial adoption in wearable energy harvesting.</p>","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":" 17","pages":" 8292-8302"},"PeriodicalIF":30.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Ultra-high-performance Ag2Se-based flexible thermoelectric generator\",\"authors\":\"Lin Zhang, Hongjing Shang, Hao Dong, Hongwei Gu and Fazhu Ding\",\"doi\":\"10.1039/D5EE03009A\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p >While flexible thermoelectric materials hold promise for wearable electronics, the low performance of films and the inefficiency of devices fundamentally restrict their practical applications. Herein, we have presented a microstructure engineering strategy to fabricate high-performance Ag<small><sub>2</sub></small>Se films. <em>Via</em> regulation of the grain-growth process, Ag<small><sub>2</sub></small>Se grains with large sizes are obtained, in which the carrier mobility is significantly enhanced to up to ∼1300 cm<small><sup>2</sup></small> V<small><sup>−1</sup></small> s<small><sup>−1</sup></small> at room temperature due to the reduced electron scattering, and low-angle grain boundaries are developed, with the room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity decreasing to 0.26 W m<small><sup>−1</sup></small> K<small><sup>−1</sup></small> because of the increased mid-frequency phonon scattering, thus partially decoupling the electrical and thermal properties. Benefiting from this, a high <em>ZT</em> of 1.15 is achieved at 300 K. Using these films, a flexible and wearable thermoelectric generator incorporating 100 pairs of thermoelectric legs was successfully developed. In the generator, a sputtering Ag buffer layer was introduced to reduce the contact resistance and interfacial reaction. As a result, this thermoelectric generator exhibits an ultra-high normalized power density of ∼9.09 μW m<small><sup>−1</sup></small> K<small><sup>−2</sup></small>, which is also the current record-breaking value among thermoelectric film devices. The superior performance allows the thermoelectric generator to power various portable electronics, including LED lights, wristwatches, and, particularly, smartphones. This work establishes a generalizable framework for developing high-performance and manufacturable thermoelectric materials and devices, narrowing the gap between laboratory breakthroughs and industrial adoption in wearable energy harvesting.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":72,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Energy & Environmental Science\",\"volume\":\" 17\",\"pages\":\" 8292-8302\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":30.8000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-08-05\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Energy & Environmental Science\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"88\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/ee/d5ee03009a\",\"RegionNum\":1,\"RegionCategory\":\"材料科学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Energy & Environmental Science","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/ee/d5ee03009a","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
While flexible thermoelectric materials hold promise for wearable electronics, the low performance of films and the inefficiency of devices fundamentally restrict their practical applications. Herein, we have presented a microstructure engineering strategy to fabricate high-performance Ag2Se films. Via regulation of the grain-growth process, Ag2Se grains with large sizes are obtained, in which the carrier mobility is significantly enhanced to up to ∼1300 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature due to the reduced electron scattering, and low-angle grain boundaries are developed, with the room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity decreasing to 0.26 W m−1 K−1 because of the increased mid-frequency phonon scattering, thus partially decoupling the electrical and thermal properties. Benefiting from this, a high ZT of 1.15 is achieved at 300 K. Using these films, a flexible and wearable thermoelectric generator incorporating 100 pairs of thermoelectric legs was successfully developed. In the generator, a sputtering Ag buffer layer was introduced to reduce the contact resistance and interfacial reaction. As a result, this thermoelectric generator exhibits an ultra-high normalized power density of ∼9.09 μW m−1 K−2, which is also the current record-breaking value among thermoelectric film devices. The superior performance allows the thermoelectric generator to power various portable electronics, including LED lights, wristwatches, and, particularly, smartphones. This work establishes a generalizable framework for developing high-performance and manufacturable thermoelectric materials and devices, narrowing the gap between laboratory breakthroughs and industrial adoption in wearable energy harvesting.
期刊介绍:
Energy & Environmental Science, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, publishes original research and review articles covering interdisciplinary topics in the (bio)chemical and (bio)physical sciences, as well as chemical engineering disciplines. Published monthly by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), a not-for-profit publisher, Energy & Environmental Science is recognized as a leading journal. It boasts an impressive impact factor of 8.500 as of 2009, ranking 8th among 140 journals in the category "Chemistry, Multidisciplinary," second among 71 journals in "Energy & Fuels," second among 128 journals in "Engineering, Chemical," and first among 181 scientific journals in "Environmental Sciences."
Energy & Environmental Science publishes various types of articles, including Research Papers (original scientific work), Review Articles, Perspectives, and Minireviews (feature review-type articles of broad interest), Communications (original scientific work of an urgent nature), Opinions (personal, often speculative viewpoints or hypotheses on current topics), and Analysis Articles (in-depth examination of energy-related issues).