Paper-based origami flexible and foldable thermoelectric nanogenerator

Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Castells-Rufas, David; Arevalo, Arpys; Singh, Devendrá; Foulds, Ian G.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.11.012

Cited by 143 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…79 An important advantage of the use of paper is the possibility of employing out-of-the-box techniques, such origami and kirigami, to stack and fold the devices in an area-efficient way and thus improve their power density.…”

Section: Of 75mentioning

confidence: 99%

Review—Micro and Nano-Engineering Enabled New Generation of Thermoelectric Generator Devices and Applications

Rojas

Singh

Inayat³

et al. 2017

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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As we are advancing our world to smart living, a critical challenge is increasingly pressing -increased energy demand. While we need mega power supplies for running data centers and other emerging applications, we also need instant small-scale power supply for trillions of electronics that we are using and will use in the age of Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE). Such power supplies must meet some parallel demands: sufficient energy supply in reliable, safe and affordable manner. In that regard, thermoelectric generators emerge as important renewable energy source with great potential to take advantage of the widely-abundant and normally-wasted thermal energy. Thanks to the advancements of nano-engineered materials, thermoelectric generators' (TEG) performance and feasibility are gradually improving. However, still innovative engineering solutions are scarce to sufficiently take the TEG performance and functionalities beyond the status-quo. Opportunities exist to integrate them with emerging fields and technologies such as wearable electronics, bio-integrated systems, cybernetics and others. This review will mainly focus on unorthodox but effective engineering solutions to notch up the overall performance of TEGs and broadening their application base. First, nanotechnology's influence in TEGs' development will be introduced, followed by a discussion on how the introduction of mechanically reconfigurable devices can shape up the emerging spectrum of novel TEG technologies. The technology-driven age we are currently in, have brought great advantages to establish a more comfortable and smarter living and it is leading the way for an even faster-growing development in all areas of science and engineering, but at the same time it brings an incredibly fast growing demand for energy. Current and future energy consumption mandate the need for alternative energy sources, with reduced environmental impact. Readily available solar and wind energies have lead the way as alternative energy sources to environmentally challenging fossil fuels.1 Moreover, thanks to more recent developments in thermoelectric (TE) materials and devices, the possibility of making a better use of the widely abundant and normally wasted thermal energy, has becoming a popular and feasible alternative.2 More importantly, thermal waste has become a very important and environmentallyfriendly source of otherwise wasted energy.3,4 There has been already an important set of studies covering the mechanism involved during the conversion from thermal to electric energy. [5][6][7][8] Such studies have been the starting point to develop and optimize novel TE materials with the resourceful aid of uprising nanotechnologies. 9,10 In this review, we will first shortly introduce some important basic concepts and relations about thermoelectrics, as well as some of the current efforts to use nanotechnologies and nano-materials to improve performance and viability. Next, we will focus on identifying innovative devices, novel engineering approach...

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Section: Of 75mentioning

confidence: 99%

Review—Micro and Nano-Engineering Enabled New Generation of Thermoelectric Generator Devices and Applications

Rojas

Singh

Inayat³

et al. 2017

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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“…These designs consisted of simple strips of TE materials deposited on top of the paper. Standard fiber-based paper and polyester-based paper were used as substrate, also for comparison purposes 44 .…”

Section: Materials and Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, due to the smoother surface of the polyester paper, the deposited TE materials appeared to be more uniform. In addition, the TE materials were directly connected to each other and the gold interconnects was not deposited for simplicity of the fabrication process 44 .…”

Section: Paper Based Foldable Tegsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, polymers like polyimide (PI) and SU8 photoresist support advanced photolithographic techniques and thus interesting geometries can be designed with higher resolution [41][42][43] . Alternatively, paper has been also considered as a noteworthy structural material to develop foldable TEGs 44 . Additional to its affordability, adaptability and practicality, paper allows us to implement millenary techniques, such as origami and kirigami, which allow a more efficient use of area and other structural advantages [45][46][47] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Folding and stretching a thermoelectric generator

Rojas

Rehman

Albettar

et al. 2018

Micro- And Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications X

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Columbia, Canada V1V1V7. ABSTRACTAs we are at the verge of entering the era of Internet-of-Things (IoT), there is a clear need to produce continuous power supply to the huge amount of electronic devices that must be wirelessly interconnected and operate uninterruptedly. At the same time, new mechanical constrains arise from the fact that these devices should be ubiquitous, which leads to the need of lightweight and mechanical compliance to any shape or surface. As an important renewable energy source, a mechanically adaptable thermoelectric generator (TEG) can make use of the usually wasted thermal differences between ambient and technology-users to power-up such systems. With this idea in mind, we have developed a simple approach to fabricate TEGs, based on commonly available substrates (paper or polymers) and assisted through simple folding and cutting techniques (born from origami and kirigami) to form strategic structures (serpentine, helical, spiral, etc.) with the mechanical advantage of foldability and over 100% demonstrated stretchability. The use of these methods and structures allows the mechanical reconfigurability of the devices to, for example, increase the temperature difference in a TEG, thus its power, or allow a more efficient use of area and therefore increase the power density. We will discuss the strategies to effectively integrate folding and cutting techniques with common materials and the basic TEG configuration, as well as demonstrate the devices' implementation and characterization. Finally, we believe our simple integration approach offers an interesting and versatile methodology, which can be easily extrapolated to new materials and technologies for a greater variety of applications.

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“…[86] Beside mechanical energy, heat and light are also possible sources for powering flexible electronics. [87] Thermoelectric generators can convert the thermal energy in a temperature gradient into electrical energy. This could be the temperature difference between the body and the surrounding air in a wearable device.…”

Section: Paper Electronicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible and Cellulose-based Organic Electronics

Edberg

2017

Linköping Studies in Science and Technology. Dissertations

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Paper-based origami flexible and foldable thermoelectric nanogenerator

Cited by 143 publications

References 65 publications

Review—Micro and Nano-Engineering Enabled New Generation of Thermoelectric Generator Devices and Applications

Review—Micro and Nano-Engineering Enabled New Generation of Thermoelectric Generator Devices and Applications

Folding and stretching a thermoelectric generator

Flexible and Cellulose-based Organic Electronics

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