Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) can directly convert low-grade heat to electricity, and thus are very promising energy sources for wearable electronics and ‘Internet of Things’. However, conventional TEGs are rigid and brittle, and thus are not adaptable to the complex geometrical and compliant material properties of human body. Recently, developing flexible TEG systems has attracted a lot of attention, including using thermoelectric (TE) films, TE bulks, printable TE inks, TE fibers and organic TE materials. However, very few studies reported TEGs with good stretchability, which is critical to ensure conformal contact with complex geometries of human body for optimal thermoelectric performance. Inspired by the self-healing capability of human skin, self-healable electronics has also shown promising potential in wearable electronics for improved reliability and durability. However, this capability has not been achieved in TEG systems yet. In this work, a high-performance wearable thermoelectric generator with superior stretching, self-healing, recycling, and Lego-like reconfiguration capabilities is reported. To achieve these properties, high-performance modular thermoelectric chips, dynamic covalent thermoset polyimine as substrate and encapsulation, and flowable liquid metal as electrical wiring are integrated through a novel mechanical architecture design of “soft motherboard-rigid plugin modules”. This TEG can self-heal when it’s damaged by mechanical cut. When not needed, this TEG can be fully recycled, and the recycled polymer solution, thermoelectric chips and liquid metal can all be used to fabricate a new generation of TEG device. The lego-like reconfiguration capability allows reconfiguring multiple TEGs into a single TEG with increased power output. These features enable TEGs to be adaptable to the rapidly changing mechanical and thermal conditions, and user requirements.

High-performance wearable thermoelectric generator with self-healing, recycling and Lego-like reconfiguring capabilities

ACS Spring 2022

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