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Ionic thermoelectric supercapacitors
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Linköpings universitet, Fysik och elektroteknik, 2016.
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Abstract
- Temperature gradients are generated by the sun and a vast array of technologies and can induce molecular concentration gradients in solutions via thermodiffusion (Soret effect). For ions, this leads to a thermovoltage that is determined by the thermal gradient Delta T across the electrolyte, together with the ionic Seebeck coefficient alpha(i). So far, redox-free electrolytes have been poorly explored in thermoelectric applications due to a lack of strategies to harvest the energy from the Soret effect. Here, we report the conversion of heat into stored charge via a remarkably strong ionic Soret effect in a polymeric electrolyte (Seebeck coefficients as high as alpha(i) = 10 mV K-1). The ionic thermoelectric supercapacitor (ITESC) is charged under a temperature gradient. After the temperature gradient is removed, the stored electrical energy can be delivered to an external circuit. This new means to harvest energy is particularly suitable for intermittent heat sources like the sun. We show that the stored electrical energy of the ITESC is proportional to (Delta T alpha(i))(2). The resulting ITESC can convert and store several thousand times more energy compared with a traditional thermoelectric generator connected in series with a supercapacitor. Funding Agencies|European Research Council (ERC) [307596]; Swedish foundation for strategic research (SSF); Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation (KAW); Swedish Energy Agency; Wenner-Gren Foundations; Advanced Functional Materials Centre at Linkoping University.The previous status of this article was Manuscript.
- Subjects :
- Materials science
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
business.industry
Electrical engineering
Ionic bonding
Thermodynamics
02 engineering and technology
Electrolyte
Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
010402 general chemistry
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
01 natural sciences
Pollution
Thermophoresis
0104 chemical sciences
Ion
Temperature gradient
Thermoelectric generator
Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Seebeck coefficient
Thermoelectric effect
Environmental Chemistry
0210 nano-technology
business
Elektroteknik och elektronik
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e12145581bf591e7c4ab29a048f426c8