Wearable Thermoelectric Devices Based on Three-Dimensional PEDOT:Tosylate/CuI Paper Composites

Thermoelectric composites of organic and inorganic materials exhibit significantly enhanced thermoelectric properties compared with pristine organic thermoelectrics so they might be better suited as core materials of wearable thermoelectric devices. This study describes the development of three-dimensional (3D) paper PEDOT:tosylate/CuI composites that could be shaped as 3 mm thick blocks to convert a temperature difference between their bottom and top sides into power; the majority of organic thermoelectric materials are shaped as thin strips usually on a planar substrate and convert a temperature difference between the opposite edges of the strips into power. The 3D paper PEDOT:tosylate/CuI composites can produce a power density equal to 4.8 nW/cm2 (ΔΤ = 6 Κ) that is 10 times higher than that of the pristine paper PEDOT:Tos composites. The enhanced thermoelectric properties of the paper PEDOT:tosylate/CuI composites are attributed to the CuI nanocrystals entrapped inside the composite that increases the Seebeck coefficient of the composite to 225 μV K-1; the Seebeck coefficient of paper PEDOT:Tos is 65 μV K-1. A proof-of-concept wearable thermoelectric device that uses 36 blocks of the paper PEDOT:tosylate/CuI composites (as p-type elements) and 36 wires of monel (as n-type elements) can produce up to 4.7 μW of power at ΔΤ = 20 K. The device has a footprint of 64 cm2 and can be placed directly over the skin or can be embedded into clothing.