High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronics
Flexible thermoelectric generators (FTEGs) harvesting body heat offer a sustainable energy solution for wearables but traditional FTEGs suffer from insufficient power density under natural convection. This study introduces an innovative FTEG with hydrogel-copper foam composite sinks to boost heat di...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-10-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25010950 |
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| author | Hejia Wang Wei Wang Gang Li Dessalegn Abera Waktole Zhengxing Zuo Boru Jia Huihua Feng Mengyu Wang Shuaiyue shao |
| author_facet | Hejia Wang Wei Wang Gang Li Dessalegn Abera Waktole Zhengxing Zuo Boru Jia Huihua Feng Mengyu Wang Shuaiyue shao |
| author_sort | Hejia Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Flexible thermoelectric generators (FTEGs) harvesting body heat offer a sustainable energy solution for wearables but traditional FTEGs suffer from insufficient power density under natural convection. This study introduces an innovative FTEG with hydrogel-copper foam composite sinks to boost heat dissipation and power output. The hydrogel, embedded in copper foam, leverages the foam's high thermal conductivity and the hydrogel's three-dimensional porous structure to enhance evaporative cooling, while the addition of LiCl enables a long-lasting evaporation–hygroscopic cycle. The FTEG achieves a power density of 167.7 μW/cm2 (2.5 m/s wind speed, ΔT = 20 °C) and 95.4 μW/cm2 under natural convection, 29 × higher than previous results using traditional cooling sinks. The FTEG maintains excellent flexibility, with less than 1 % internal resistance changes after 1000 bending cycles. It successfully powers an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensing system in real-time, generating 83 mV and 840 μW under natural convection using an LTC3108 chip and AD8233 sensor, with 27.98 % power conversion efficiency. The system operates solely on body heat, eliminating the need for batteries or supercapacitors. These results highlight the FTEG's potential for sustainable, efficient wearable electronics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ce781ebf6154cfd9b6d6f01013c5f30 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2214-157X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ce781ebf6154cfd9b6d6f01013c5f302025-08-20T02:58:30ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-10-017410683510.1016/j.csite.2025.106835High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronicsHejia Wang0Wei Wang1Gang Li2Dessalegn Abera Waktole3Zhengxing Zuo4Boru Jia5Huihua Feng6Mengyu Wang7Shuaiyue shao8School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaCorresponding author.; School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, ChinaFlexible thermoelectric generators (FTEGs) harvesting body heat offer a sustainable energy solution for wearables but traditional FTEGs suffer from insufficient power density under natural convection. This study introduces an innovative FTEG with hydrogel-copper foam composite sinks to boost heat dissipation and power output. The hydrogel, embedded in copper foam, leverages the foam's high thermal conductivity and the hydrogel's three-dimensional porous structure to enhance evaporative cooling, while the addition of LiCl enables a long-lasting evaporation–hygroscopic cycle. The FTEG achieves a power density of 167.7 μW/cm2 (2.5 m/s wind speed, ΔT = 20 °C) and 95.4 μW/cm2 under natural convection, 29 × higher than previous results using traditional cooling sinks. The FTEG maintains excellent flexibility, with less than 1 % internal resistance changes after 1000 bending cycles. It successfully powers an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensing system in real-time, generating 83 mV and 840 μW under natural convection using an LTC3108 chip and AD8233 sensor, with 27.98 % power conversion efficiency. The system operates solely on body heat, eliminating the need for batteries or supercapacitors. These results highlight the FTEG's potential for sustainable, efficient wearable electronics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25010950ECG sensorEnergy harvestingFlexible thermoelectric generatorsHydrogel-copper foam |
| spellingShingle | Hejia Wang Wei Wang Gang Li Dessalegn Abera Waktole Zhengxing Zuo Boru Jia Huihua Feng Mengyu Wang Shuaiyue shao High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronics Case Studies in Thermal Engineering ECG sensor Energy harvesting Flexible thermoelectric generators Hydrogel-copper foam |
| title | High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronics |
| title_full | High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronics |
| title_fullStr | High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronics |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronics |
| title_short | High-performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel-copper foam cooling for self-powered wearable electronics |
| title_sort | high performance flexible thermoelectric generator with hydrogel copper foam cooling for self powered wearable electronics |
| topic | ECG sensor Energy harvesting Flexible thermoelectric generators Hydrogel-copper foam |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25010950 |
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