Reversible bipolar thermopower of ionic thermoelectric polymer composite for cyclic energy generation

Cheng Chi, Gongze Liu, Meng An, Yufeng Zhang, Dongxing Song, Xin Qi, Chunyu Zhao, Zequn Wang, Yanzheng Du, Zizhen Lin, Yang Lu, He Huang, Yang Li, Chongjia Lin, Weigang Ma (), Baoling Huang (), Xiaoze Du and Xing Zhang
Additional contact information
Cheng Chi: Tsinghua University
Gongze Liu: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Meng An: Tsinghua University
Yufeng Zhang: Tsinghua University
Dongxing Song: Tsinghua University
Xin Qi: Tsinghua University
Chunyu Zhao: Tsinghua University
Zequn Wang: Shaanxi University of Science and Technology
Yanzheng Du: Tsinghua University
Zizhen Lin: Tsinghua University
Yang Lu: Tsinghua University
He Huang: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Yang Li: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Chongjia Lin: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Weigang Ma: Tsinghua University
Baoling Huang: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Xiaoze Du: North China Electric Power University
Xing Zhang: Tsinghua University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The giant thermopower of ionic thermoelectric materials has attracted great attention for waste-heat recovery technologies. However, generating cyclic power by ionic thermoelectric modules remains challenging, since the ions cannot travel across the electrode interface. Here, we reported a reversible bipolar thermopower (+20.2 mV K−1 to −10.2 mV K−1) of the same composite by manipulating the interactions of ions and electrodes. Meanwhile, a promising ionic thermoelectric generator was proposed to achieve cyclic power generation under a constant heat course only by switching the external electrodes that can effectively realize the alternating dominated thermodiffusion of cations and anions. It eliminates the necessity to change the thermal contact between material and heat, nor does it require re-establish the temperature differences, which can favor improving the efficiency of the ionic thermoelectrics. Furthermore, the developed micro-thermal sensors demonstrated high sensitivity and responsivity in light detecting, presenting innovative impacts on exploring next-generation ionic thermoelectric devices.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36018-w

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