Bioinspired Wearable Thermoelectric Device Constructed with Soft‐Rigid Assembly for Personal Thermal Management

Abstract

AbstractThe development of high‐performance thermoelectric devices (TEDs) with personal thermoregulation is crucial for the advancement of next‐generation wearable technologies. Most efforts focus on optimizing mechanical flexibility in fully encapsulated devices, but parasitic heat loss induced by the layer‐packed polymer matrices with high thermal impedance typically leads to degradation in sensing and bidirectional conversion capabilities. Here, a bioinspired architectural strategy is proposed for this problem that demonstrates the feasibility of single‐sided assembly based on a soft‐rigid “skin‐spine” configuration to improve heat utilization efficiency. With active TE units connected via serpentine electrodes, skin‐spine‐structured wearable thermoelectric devices (SSSW‐TEDs) are successfully fabricated enabling temperature sensing and bidirectional heat‐to‐electricity conversion under mild forced convection. This contributes to significant enhancements in power delivery (by 300%) and cost‐benefit analysis (by 100%) through efficient air convection heat dissipation. Moreover, SSSW‐TED enables personal thermal regulation by harnessing body heat, cooling the skin, and perceiving behaviors such as touching and blowing. This study not only provides novel insights for high‐performance TEDs but also lays the foundation for the widespread implementation of skin thermoregulation.