Abstract
AbstractHere, we present a process based on roll‐to‐roll (R2R) technology which allows for very fast processing of polymer thermoelectric (TE) devices and we furthermore demonstrate a simplified but more efficient way of serially connecting these devices by means of R2R thin‐film processing. The new device architecture makes it possible to use only one TE material (opposed to two materials which are employed in well‐known Peltier elements), and a total of 18,000 serially connected junctions were prepared by flexoprinting of silver electrodes and by rotary screen printing of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT):polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) as the TE material. Testing of devices revealed that the new architecture clearly showed to be functioning as expected, but also pointed toward challenges for thin‐film TE development which is the influence of the substrate thickness on the thermal gradient over a device and the currently low performance available. A life‐cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out in order to evaluate the sustainability of the new architecture and to estimate the requirements for development of a successful technology.
Highlights
The possibility of exploiting waste heat to generate electricity via thermoelectric (TE) materials has fascinated scientists for decades as such “free” energy can potentially be harvested from a multitude of sources
The use of polymers as thermoelectric materials offers in addition the possibility of fast solution processing of large volumes at a very low cost, but so far the polymeric thermoelectric research has primarily been based on materials properties and only very little effort has been put into actual preparation of devices and the challenges that are associated with demonstrating practical use as a technology
If the ratio between thermoelectric material and substrate/adhesive thickness is taken into account (1:50 without adhesive and 1:100 with adhesive) and it is assumed that the thermal gradient is distributed evenly with the same ratio, the estimated average Seebeck coefficients, considering just the thermoelectric material, all lie within 0.7–3.5 lV/K which is quite close to the coefficients determined for the PEDOT:polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) ink itself after drying and pressing it into a pellet
Summary
The possibility of exploiting waste heat to generate electricity via thermoelectric (TE) materials has fascinated scientists for decades as such “free” energy can potentially be harvested from a multitude of sources. Energy Science & Engineering published by the Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. conductivities through these polymeric materials are roughly of the same order of magnitude, whereas the silver electrodes (very good heat conductors) can be assumed to have a negligible contribution to the thermal gradient through a device.
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