Design, Performance, and Application of Thermoelectric Nanogenerators

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 15; no. 32; pp. e1805241 - n/a
• Main Authors: Zhang, Ding, Wang, Yuanhao, Yang, Ya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-08-2019
• Subjects: Artificial intelligence; Electric power generation; Electronic equipment; Electronics; Energy harvesting; flexibility; Nanogenerators; Nanotechnology; Optimization; Seebeck effect; Thermal energy; thermoelectric nanogenerators; thermoelectric nanomaterials; Thermoelectricity; Wearable technology; thermal energy; flexibility; Seebeck effect; thermoelectric nanomaterials; thermoelectric nanogenerators
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201805241

Thermal energy harvesting from the ambient environment through thermoelectric nanogenerators (TEGs) is an ideal way to realize self‐powered operation of electronics, and even relieve the energy crisis and environmental degradation. As one of the most significant energy‐related technologies, TEGs have exhibited excellent thermoelectric performance and played an increasingly important role in harvesting and converting heat into electric energy, gradually becoming one of the hot research fields. Here, the development of TEGs including materials optimization, structural designs, and potential applications, even the opportunities, challenges, and the future development direction, is analyzed and summarized. Materials optimization and structural designs of flexibility for potential applications in wearable electronics are systematically discussed. With the development of flexible and wearable electronic equipment, flexible TEGs show increasingly great application prospects in artificial intelligence, self‐powered sensing systems, and other fields in the future.
Thermoelectric nanogenerators (TEGs) for energy harvesting provide an ideal way to realize self‐powered operation of electronics and play an increasingly important role in harvesting and converting heat into electric energy. The development of TEGs including materials optimization, structural designs, and potential applications, even the opportunities, challenges, and future development direction, is analyzed and summarized.