Interfacial engineering of flexible Ag_2-xSn_xS on carbon fabric for enhanced wearable thermoelectric generator

Smart wearable devices are still powered by batteries requiring constant recharging, which is a key challenge faced in wearable technologies. Fabrication of flexible thermoelectric materials that can utilize body heat for wearable applications are an attractive alternative to batteries. Developing a thermoelectric material that is flexible, affordable, and has good performance remains a considerable challenge owing to the constrained thermoelectric efficiency of conducting polymers and the inherent rigidity of inorganic materials. Here, we have used a solvothermal technique to incorporate Ag_2-xSn_xS into conductive carbon fabric as a flexible thermoelectric material. To further enhance its thermoelectric performance, various concentrations of Ag_2-xSn_xS are grown on carbon fabric. The monoclinic phase of Ag₂S on carbon fabric was verified by XRD analysis. After analyzing the thermoelectric characteristics of Ag_1.84Sn_0.16S, a maximum power factor of 110 μW/mK² was observed for the SSS8 sample. This value is four times higher than the percentage of pristine Ag₂S-CF. The W-TEG device fabricated using 3 pair modules produced an output voltage ranging from 0.09 to 1.5 mV across a temperature gradient of 3 to 8 K.