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High-Performance Screen-Printed Thermoelectric Films on Fabrics.
Sunmi Shin1, Rajan Kumar2, Jong Wook Roh3
1Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093, United States.
Scientific Reports
|August 6, 2017
Summary
Screen printing enables scalable fabrication of flexible thermoelectric (TE) devices using minimal binder additives. This method enhances electrical transport and achieves high ZT values for power generation in wearable applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Energy Harvesting
Background:
- Thermoelectric (TE) devices are crucial for energy harvesting in wearable technology.
- Traditional printing methods for TE devices on flexible substrates are hindered by binder additives negatively impacting electrical properties.
- Scalable fabrication of efficient TE materials on flexible substrates remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a scalable screen-printing technique for fabricating high-performance thermoelectric layers on flexible substrates.
- To optimize printing ink formulations to minimize the detrimental effects of binder additives on electrical transport.
- To investigate the impact of binder burnout on the thermoelectric properties, particularly thermal conductivity.
Main Methods:
- Screen-printing of thermoelectric (TE) layers using optimized inks containing p-type (Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3) or n-type (Bi2Te2.7Se0.3) particles, methyl cellulose binder, and organic solvents.
- Utilizing a minimal concentration (0.45-0.60 wt.%) of methyl cellulose as a binder to ensure printability and reduce negative impacts on electrical transport.
- Binder removal through sintering and hot pressing, followed by characterization of thermoelectric performance.
Main Results:
- Achieved scalable screen-printing of TE layers on flexible fiberglass fabrics.
- Identified methyl cellulose as an effective binder additive at low concentrations, preserving electrical transport.
- Observed formation of nanoscale defects after binder burnout, acting as phonon scattering centers and reducing lattice thermal conductivity.
- Reported high room-temperature ZT values of 0.65 for p-type and 0.81 for n-type TE layers.
Conclusions:
- Scalable screen-printing with optimized inks and binder removal strategies is a viable method for fabricating flexible thermoelectric devices.
- The developed technique effectively minimizes binder-induced degradation of electrical properties.
- The resulting TE layers exhibit excellent thermoelectric performance, suitable for applications in wearable power generation and personalized thermo-regulation.
