Issue 7, 2022

Stretchable thermogalvanic hydrogel thermocell with record-high specific output power density enabled by ion-induced crystallization

Abstract

Ionic thermocells have relatively high thermopowers based on the thermogalvanic effect, but their small electricity output is still insufficient for practical applications. We demonstrated a highly ionic conductive, anti-freezing stretchable thermogalvanic hydrogel thermocell (STHTC) with a record-high specific output power density of 1780 μW m−2 K−2, which is ∼3 times the maximum value of previously reported STHTCs. The guanidine ion induces [Fe(CN)6]4− ion crystallization and significantly enhances the thermogalvanic effect. The giant thermopower and stretchability are as high as 4.4 mV K−1 and 540%, respectively. Even at a low operating temperature of −35 °C, the STHTC still exhibits good thermoelectrical performance. As a wearable device, a STHTC array device has been demonstrated to directly light up five green LEDs by simulating harvesting low-grade human thermal energy. By placing the STHTC on the surface of a normal working Central Processing Unit, it proves a feasible strategy for simultaneous thermal management and power generation.

Graphical abstract: Stretchable thermogalvanic hydrogel thermocell with record-high specific output power density enabled by ion-induced crystallization

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 Mar 2022
Accepted
13 May 2022
First published
13 May 2022

Energy Environ. Sci., 2022,15, 2974-2982

Stretchable thermogalvanic hydrogel thermocell with record-high specific output power density enabled by ion-induced crystallization

D. Zhang, Y. Mao, F. Ye, Q. Li, P. Bai, W. He and R. Ma, Energy Environ. Sci., 2022, 15, 2974 DOI: 10.1039/D2EE00738J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements