Polymer Fabric-Based Thermoelectric Devices

Most thermoelectric devices on the market today are rigid solid-state inorganic based, which possess many drawbacks including high manufacture cost, restriction in installation, and concerns over thermal expansion stress. We have developed a new material system in whcih we can adjust the carrier type and concentration in the solution phase growth. The material can be coated on conventional fabrics, such as nylon, and exhibits high electrical conductivity and reasonable Seebeck coefficient even without thermal annealing. We also demonstrate that the nanomaterial-coated fabrics, indeed, for the first time, can generate considerable amount of electrical power from a small temeparture difference.