Solution-Based 3D Printing of Thermoelectrics: Advances and Opportunities

Conformal and flexible thermoelectric devices, capable of adapting to complex heat sources, are essential for advancing practical thermoelectric applications in energy harvesting and thermal management. Solution-based 3D printing has emerged as a promising additive manufacturing technique for thermoelectrics, offering advantages such as ambient-temperature processing, geometric precision, material versatility, and scalability for mass customization. This review highlights recent progress in conformal and flexible thermoelectric materials and devices fabricated via solution 3D printing, with a systematic focus on ink formulations, material and device architectures, performance metrics, and real-world applications. It also discusses current challenges, future directions, and emerging opportunities. This work aims to inform the design and scalable fabrication of high-performance, flexible, and adaptable thermoelectric systems.