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Ultrastrong, flexible thermogalvanic armor with a Carnot-relative efficiency over 8.

Jinpei WangYuxin SongFanfei YuYijun ZengChenyang WuXuezhi QinLiang PengYitan LiYongsen ZhouRan TaoHangchen LiuHong ZhuMing SunWanghuai XuChao ZhangZuankai Wang
Published in: Nature communications (2024)
Body heat, a clean and ubiquitous energy source, is promising as a renewable resource to supply wearable electronics. Emerging tough thermogalvanic device could be a sustainable platform to convert body heat energy into electricity for powering wearable electronics if its Carnot-relative efficiency (η r ) reaches ~5%. However, maximizing both the η r and mechanical strength of the device are mutually exclusive. Here, we develop a rational strategy to construct a flexible thermogalvanic armor (FTGA) with a η r over 8% near room temperature, yet preserving mechanical robustness. The key to our design lies in simultaneously realizing the thermosensitive-crystallization and salting-out effect in the elaborately designed ion-transport highway to boost η r and improve mechanical strength. The FTGA achieves an ultrahigh η r of 8.53%, coupling with impressive mechanical toughness of 70.65 MJ m -3 and substantial elongation (~900%) together. Our strategy holds sustainable potential for harvesting body heat and powering wearable electronics without recharging.
Keyphrases
  • room temperature
  • heat stress
  • heart rate
  • ionic liquid
  • blood pressure
  • risk assessment
  • single cell