Thermoelectric (TE) material can interconvert heat and electricity. This feature has given rise to incredible technologies such as power generators for space exploration. Above all it presents enormous potential for waste heat recovery. A good opportunity for the green transition: if it can be used on large surfaces without losing efficiency, the thermoelectric material could give a huge boost to the solar sector.
Now, the researchers of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm have developed an important innovation. This is a promising thermoelectric coating: a true 'ink' for devices that generate heat below 100 degrees Celsius.
A thermoelectric ink
Research (I link it to you here), was led by Muhammad Toprak, professor of materials chemistry at KTH. The focus? The design and development of hybrid thermoelectric materials for ambient temperature operations. Each tested device integrated the thermoelectric material with solid-state semiconductors.
The results provide a low-cost method to produce and apply TE coatings on a large scale. According to the researchers, thermoelectric coating can be used to create electricity from any surface that sheds heat. It could be particularly useful for many applications. First of all for flexible energy recovery technologies that must operate over a large area, such as personal medical devices and the Internet of Things.
New awareness and more energy
Swedish research is also making progress in gaining a better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the materials used to design this new era of “hybrid thermoelectrics.”
"Short term," says Toprak, “there will be a tangible impact on IoT and other low-power applications. In wearable electronics, a thermoelectric ink could even replace batteries."
In the long term, by working on more sustainable mixes of thermoelectric material and biopolymers (such as cellulose and lignocellulose, or plant matter), the use of this technology across large areas will have a huge impact.
It will be a complementary means of collecting (or recovering) energy. I can't wait to appreciate the first applications!
