title: High-efficiency electrochemical thermal energy harvester using carbon nanotube aerogel sheet electrodes.
abstract: Conversion of low-grade waste heat into electricity is an important energy harvesting strategy. However, abundant heat from these low-grade thermal streams cannot be harvested readily because of the absence of efficient, inexpensive devices that can convert the waste heat into electricity. Here we fabricate carbon nanotube aerogel-based thermo-electrochemical cells, which are potentially low-cost and relatively high-efficiency materials for this application. When normalized to the cell cross-sectional area, a maximum power output of 6.6 W m(-2) is obtained for a 51 °C inter-electrode temperature difference, with a Carnot-relative efficiency of 3.95%. The importance of electrode purity, engineered porosity and catalytic surfaces in enhancing the thermocell performance is demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeongwook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Im
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.
authors.forename: Taewoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyelynn
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jongho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Advanced Machinery and Design, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Sung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Nano-Science &Technology Center, Lintec of America, Inc., Richardson, Texas 75081, USA.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ovalle-Robles
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoMechatronics Engineering, College of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Doo
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Kihm
authors.affiliation: Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA.
authors.forename: Ray H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Baughman
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-744, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hong H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, INHA University, Incheon 22212, South Korea.
authors.forename: Tae June
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.|Institute of Advanced Aerospace Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Hyup
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
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