Chinese researchers develop high-performance thermoelectric plastics

Chinese researchers have developed a high-performance plastic-based thermoelectric material that holds great promise for applications in areas such as wearable electronics.

This innovative material, featuring lightness and softness, can employ temperature differences to generate electricity.

The study, conducted by a collaborative research team from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS), Beihang University and other institutes, was recently published in the journal Nature.

"Many conductive polymers can serve as thermoelectric materials. When a temperature gradient is applied to these materials, an electromotive force is generated between the two ends of the material," said Di Chong'an, the study's corresponding author and a researcher at ICCAS.

He added that when an electrical circuit is established across these materials and voltage is applied, a temperature gradient is also generated between the two ends of the material.

"These phenomena open up the possibility of using lightweight and flexible plastics for thermoelectric power generation, paving the way for the development of adhesive and wearable electronics and temperature-regulating clothing," said Di.

In this study, the research team developed a thermoelectric material called polymeric multi-heterojunction (PMHJ), whose thermoelectric property surpasses the performance of commercially available materials in the same temperature range.

In addition, the team showed that the PMHJ structure is compatible with solution coating methods, meeting the need for large-area plastic thermoelectrics and enabling the development of affordable wearable thermoelectric technologies.