1. Organic π-type thermoelectric module supported by photolithographic mold: a working hypothesis of sticky thermoelectric materials
- Author
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Norifusa Satoh, Masaji Otsuka, Tomoko Ohki, Akihiko Ohi, Yasuaki Sakurai, Yukihiko Yamashita, and Takao Mori
- Subjects
Contact resistance ,flexible thermoelectric sheet ,mass-production ,inverse materials design ,Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials ,TA401-492 ,Biotechnology ,TP248.13-248.65 - Abstract
To examine the potential of organic thermoelectrics (TEs) for energy harvesting, we fabricated an organic TE module to achieve 250 mV in the open-circuit voltage which is sufficient to drive a commercially available booster circuit designed for energy harvesting usage. We chose the π-type module structure to maintain the temperature differences in organic TE legs, and then optimized the p- and n-type TE materials’ properties. After injecting the p- and n-type TE materials into photolithographic mold, we eventually achieved 250 mV in the open-circuit voltage by a method to form the upper electrodes. However, we faced a difficulty to reduce the contact resistance in this material system. We conclude that TE materials must be inversely designed from the viewpoints of the expected module structures and mass-production processes, especially for the purpose of energy harvesting.
- Published
- 2018
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