Abstract
Self-powered wearable electronics require thermoelectric materials simultaneously with a high dimensionless figure of merit (zT) and good flexibility to convert the heat discharged by the human body into electricity. Ag2(S,Se)-based semiconducting materials can well satisfy these requirements, and thus, they are attracting great attention in thermoelectric society recently. Ag2(S,Se) crystalizes in an orthorhombic structure or monoclinic structure, depending on the detailed S/Se atomic ratio, but the relationship between its crystalline structure and mechanical/thermoelectric performance is still unclear to date. In this study, a series of Ag2Se1‐xSx (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.45) samples were prepared and their mechanical and thermoelectric performance dependence on the crystalline structure was systematically investigated. x = 0.3 in the Ag2Se1‐xSx system was found to be the transition boundary between orthorhombic and monoclinic structures. Mechanical property measurement shows that the orthorhombic Ag2Se1‐xSx samples are brittle while the monoclinic Ag2Se1‐xSx samples are ductile and flexible. In addition, the orthorhombic Ag2Se1‐xSx samples show better electrical transport performance and higher zT than the monoclinic samples under a comparable carrier concentration, most likely due to their weaker electron-phonon interactions. This study sheds light on the further development of flexible inorganic TE materials.
Highlights
Thermoelectric (TE) technology shows a great potential to be used as a sustainable power source in wearable electronics [1,2,3]
Via harvesting the heat discharged by the human body and converting it into electricity, the wearable electronics using TE technology can be self-powered without using any external batteries
The TE material used in wearable electronics should possess high zT to maximize the energy conversion efficiency and good flexibility to match the curved surface of skin and endure repeated bending during service [4,5,6]
Summary
Thermoelectric (TE) technology shows a great potential to be used as a sustainable power source in wearable electronics [1,2,3]. Previous study showed that the good ductility can be well maintained when the Se alloying content in Ag2S reaches 50% or the Te alloying content reaches 20%, enabling these materials very suitable to be used in flexible wearable electronics. Being different with ductile Ag2S, Ag2Se is a brittle material The room-temperature crystalline structure of Ag2S1‐xSex solid solution is the same with the monoclinic Ag2S when x ≤ 0:6, but the same with the orthorhombic Ag2Se when x ≥ 0:7. The superior TE performance and thermal stability to the organic TE materials and the intrinsically good flexibility still promise a great potential for monoclinic Ag2Se1‐xSx to be used in wearable electronics
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