title: Wearable Thermocells Based on Gel Electrolytes for the Utilization of Body Heat.
abstract: Converting body heat into electricity is a promising strategy for supplying power to wearable electronics. To avoid the limitations of traditional solid-state thermoelectric materials, such as frangibility and complex fabrication processes, we fabricated two types of thermogalvanic gel electrolytes with positive and negative thermo-electrochemical Seebeck coefficients, respectively, which correspond to the n-type and p-type elements of a conventional thermoelectric generator. Such gel electrolytes exhibit not only moderate thermoelectric performance but also good mechanical properties. Based on these electrolytes, a flexible and wearable thermocell was designed with an output voltage approaching 1 V by utilizing body heat. This work may offer a new train of thought for the development of self-powered wearable systems by harvesting low-grade body heat.
authors.affiliation: Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Peihua
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Yishu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China. jun.zhou@mail.hust.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
keywords: flexible electronics; gel electrolytes; thermocells; thermoelectric materials; wearable electronics