Thermoelectric devices are effective in harvesting energy from waste heat with a temperature difference relative to the environment, which can be applied in vehicles, aircrafts, and power plants. In our research, we developed a thin, light-weight, and flexible thermoelectric nanogenerator based on the nanocomposite of silver telluride (Ag 2 Te) nanowires and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The Seebeck coefficient of the nanocomposite was determined to be 100 μV/K. A linear relationship between the output voltage and the temperature difference across the thermoelectric nanogenerator was observed. Not only for the purpose of energy harvesting, the thermoelectric nanogenerator can also function as a self-powered sensor for water temperature measurement. Increasing research efforts have been devoted to renewable energy owing to the large energy consumption in recent years. Comparing to fossil fuel, renewable energy with the advantages of reduced carbon emission and secure long-term energy supply is more mandatory for the sustainable development of the world. Nanogenerators, which are emerging new energy technologies that can harvest renewable energy from the environment, have attracted global attention.1-4 Thermoelectric nanogenerator, which works based on thermoelectric effect, 5-7 is capable of converting waste heat into electricity with a temperature difference relative to environmental temperature. Many studies [8][9][10][11] have demonstrated that nanomaterials can enhance their ZT values by suppressing the thermal conductivity compare to their bulk counterparts. The reduction of thermal conductivity in nanomaterials is because phonon scattering and energy-dependent scattering of electrical carriers occur in the presence of nanoscale interfaces.12 These properties result in nanomaterials are good candidates to fabricate thermoelectric nanogenerator to harvest tiny-scale thermal energy 13,14 and show the potential to be applied in the collection of heat energy from vehicles, aircrafts, and power plants. In addition, thermoelectric nanogenerator can be used as alternative to photovoltaic cells to convert solar energy into electrical power. [15][16][17][18] In this paper, we developed a thin, light-weight, and flexible thermoelectric nanogenerator (Figure 1a) based on the nanocomposite Ag 2 Te nanowires and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The Ag 2 Te nanowires were synthesized at ambient temperature, which means that the energy-saving concept can be completely utilized, starting from the nanomaterial preparation. The as-prepared thermoelectric nanogenerator showed a Seebeck coefficient of 100 μV/K and a linear relationship between the output voltage and the temperature difference across the device. Under a temperature difference of 25• C, the thermoelectric nanogenerator provided an output voltage of 2.6 mV. And we have demonstrated that the thermoelectric nanogenerator can be applied as a self-powered sensor for water temperature measureme...

With the rise of wearable electronic technology, the market value of related devices is predicted to exceed $12 billion in 2018. However, the supply of sufficient electricity to operate such devices over an acceptable duration of time without employing a large-sized battery has remained a major challenge for the development. Therefore, the concept of power suit which can harvest renewable energy from the environment to charge the battery in wearable electronic devices has been proposed. In this study, we developed textile-based triboelectric generator to harvest mechanical energy from human motions. In addition, we also functionalized the textile-based triboelectric generator with self-powered sensing properties. Through the selection of triboelectric materials, the as-developed generator further became self-powered sensors for salt detection. We believe that the textile-based triboelectric generator can be combined with other healthcare sensors to become smart clothing products in the near future.