A flat radiative cooling thermoelectric generator for high performance power generation

Abstract

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) based on radiative cooling have attracted significant attention in the energy conversion field because they are energy-independent and pollution-free. However, the development of a thin TEG with high and stable output power is still a challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a flat TEG based on radiative cooling, non-radiative heat transfer cooling, and building waste heat. The flat structure of the designed TEG is thin and enables the non-radiative heat transfer to contribute to the cold end of TEG. A porous Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) film, adhered to a copper substrate, is prepared by non-solvent-induced phase separation as the radiative cooling emitter (RCE). The temperature of RCE is 19.9 °C lower than that of the building. To harvest the building waste heat efficiently, a copper plate is designed as the heat collector, which increases the temperature difference between the two ends of TEG to 228 % with respect to one without the heat collector. The uninterrupted output power of the designed TEG matches well with residential electricity and reaches 153.1 mW/m2, which exceeds most previous works. 95 light emitting diodes are lit up successfully by the designed TEG, which shows great potential in off-grid, continuous power-consumed applications.