Large Voltage Generation of Flexible Thermoelectric Nanocrystal Thin Films by Finger Contact |
| |
Authors: | Jinyong Choi Kyoungah Cho Junggwon Yun Yoonbeom Park Seunggen Yang Sangsig Kim |
| |
Institution: | Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Sungbuk‐gu, Seoul, South Korea |
| |
Abstract: | This paper demonstrates that thermal energy radiated from a human finger can be converted efficiently into electricity by a nanocrystal (NC) thin film that substantially suppresses thermal conduction, but still allows electric conduction. The converting efficiencies of the chalcogenide NC thin films with dimensions 40 µm × 20 µm × 20 nm, prepared on flexible substrates by a solution process, are maximized by adjusting the NC size. A Seebeck coefficient of S = 1829 µV K?1, and a dimensionless thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit, ZT = 0.68 are achieved at ambient temperature for p‐ and n‐type NC thin films, respectively. A thermoelectric array consisting of p‐ and n‐type NC thin films generates a voltage of 645 mV for a temperature gradient of 10 K. Furthermore, the donut‐shaped pn array can generate a voltage of 170 mV from the heat supplied by an individual's finger. |
| |
Keywords: | flexible nanocrystal thin films power generation solution‐processable thermoelectric modules |
|
|