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Irregular hierarchical-porous polymer for high-performance soft thermoelectrics.
Xiao Zhang1,2, Dongyang Wang1, Liyao Liu1
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 5, 2026
Summary
We developed novel porous thermoelectric polymers that efficiently convert heat to electricity. This breakthrough enhances performance and simplifies manufacturing for sustainable energy solutions.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Science
- Energy Conversion
Background:
- Polymer thermoelectrics offer a flexible, low-cost method for sustainable energy generation.
- Current limitations include suboptimal performance and complex scalability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer advanced thermoelectric polymers with enhanced performance and simplified processing.
- To address the key challenges of insufficient efficiency and manufacturing complexity in polymer thermoelectrics.
Main Methods:
- Introduction of irregular hierarchical-porous structures in thermoelectric polymers.
- Tuning pore size distribution from nanometers to micrometers.
- Utilizing spray-coating techniques for material deposition.
Main Results:
- Achieved a 72% reduction in lattice thermal conductivity via enhanced phonon scattering.
- Observed improved charge transport due to nanoconfinement-induced crystallization.
- Reached a record figure-of-merit (zT) of 1.64 at 343 K.
Conclusions:
- Irregular hierarchical-porosity is a promising strategy for high-performance thermoelectric polymers.
- The developed method is compatible with scalable spray-coating techniques.
- These findings pave the way for practical applications of polymer thermoelectric generators.
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