Stretchable fabric generates electric power from woven thermoelectric fibers.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31996675.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-14399-6 and PMC identifier 6989526.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Assembling thermoelectric modules into fabric to harvest energy from body heat could one day power multitudinous wearable electronics. However, the invalid 2D architecture of fabric limits the application in thermoelectrics. Here, we make the valid thermoelectric fabric woven out of thermoelectric fibers producing an unobtrusive working thermoelectric module. Alternately doped carbon nanotube fibers wrapped with acrylic fibers are woven into π-type thermoelectric modules. Utilizing elasticity originating from interlocked thermoelectric modules, stretchable 3D thermoelectric generators without substrate can be made to enable sufficient alignment with the heat flow direction. The textile generator shows a peak power density of 70 mWm<sup>-2</sup> for a temperature difference of 44 K and excellent stretchability (~80% strain) with no output degradation. The compatibility between body movement and sustained power supply is further displayed. The generators described here are true textiles, proving active thermoelectrics can be woven into various fabric architectures for sensing, energy harvesting, or thermal management.