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Published on: February 5, 2020
Harvesting Waste Heat in Unipolar Ion Conducting Polymers
William B Chang, Christopher M Evans1, Bhooshan C Popere1
1Departments of Chemical Engineering and Materials, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93117, United States.
Abstract:
The Seebeck effect in unipolar ion-conducting, solid-state polymers is characterized. The high Seebeck coefficient and sign in polymer ion conductors is explained via analysis of thermogalvanic multicomponent transport. A solid-state, water-processeable, flexible device based on these materials is demonstrated, showcasing the promise of polymers as thermogalvanic materials. Thermogalvanic materials based on ion-conducting polymer membranes show great promise in the harvesting of waste heat.

