Physics-guided co-designing flexible thermoelectrics with techno-economic sustainability for low-grade heat harvesting.

ABSTRACT: Flexible thermoelectric harvesting of omnipresent spatial thermodynamic energy, though promising in low-grade waste heat recovery (<100°C), is still far from industrialization because of its unequivocal cost-ineffectiveness caused by low thermoelectric efficiency and power-cost coupled device topology. Here, we demonstrate unconventional upcycling of low-grade heat via physics-guided rationalized flexible thermoelectrics, without increasing total heat input or tailoring material properties, into electricity with a power-cost ratio (W/US$) enhancement of 25.3% compared to conventional counterparts. The reduced material usage (44%) contributes to device power-cost "decoupling," leading to geometry-dependent optimal electrical matching for output maximization. This offers an energy consumptio

SUBMITTER: Zhou Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9839327 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature