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Nanowire-composite based flexible thermoelectric nanogenerators and self-powered temperature sensors

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Abstract

We have developed a flexible thermoelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that is based on a Te-nanowire/poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) polymer composite as the thermoelectric material with a positive Seebeck coefficient of 285 μV/K. A linear relationship between the output voltage of TENG and the temperature difference across the device was observed. Under a temperature difference of 55 K, two TENGs can provide an output voltage of 38 mV in serial connection, or a current density exceeding 32 nA/mm2 in parallel connection. We demonstrated that the flexible TENG can be used as a wearable energy harvester by using human body temperature as the energy source. In addition, the TENG can also be used as a self-powered temperature sensor with a response time of 17 s and a reset time of 9 s. The detection sensitivity of the sensor can reach 0.15 K in ambient atmosphere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332-0245, USA

    Ya Yang, Zong-Hong Lin, Techien Hou, Fang Zhang & Zhong Lin Wang

  2. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Zhong Lin Wang

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  1. Ya Yang
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  2. Zong-Hong Lin
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  3. Techien Hou
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  4. Fang Zhang
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  5. Zhong Lin Wang
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Correspondence to Zhong Lin Wang.

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These authors contributed equally

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Yang, Y., Lin, ZH., Hou, T. et al. Nanowire-composite based flexible thermoelectric nanogenerators and self-powered temperature sensors. Nano Res. 5, 888–895 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0272-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0272-8

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