High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics
Abstract Flexible thermoelectric materials and devices hold enormous potential for wearable electronics but are hindered by inadequate material properties and inefficient assembly techniques, leading to suboptimal performance. Herein, we developed a flexible thermoelectric film, comprising Ag2Se nan...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60284-5 |
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| author | Lin Zhang Xiao-Lei Shi Hongjing Shang Hongwei Gu Wenyi Chen Meng Li Daxing Huang Hao Dong Xiaolei Wang Fazhu Ding Zhi-Gang Chen |
| author_facet | Lin Zhang Xiao-Lei Shi Hongjing Shang Hongwei Gu Wenyi Chen Meng Li Daxing Huang Hao Dong Xiaolei Wang Fazhu Ding Zhi-Gang Chen |
| author_sort | Lin Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Flexible thermoelectric materials and devices hold enormous potential for wearable electronics but are hindered by inadequate material properties and inefficient assembly techniques, leading to suboptimal performance. Herein, we developed a flexible thermoelectric film, comprising Ag2Se nanowires as the primary material, a nylon membrane as a flexible scaffold, and reduced graphene oxide as a conductive network, achieving a record-high room-temperature ZT of 1.28. Hot-pressed Ag2Se nanowires exhibited strong (013) orientation, enhancing carrier mobility and electrical conductivity. Dispersed reduced graphene oxide further boosts electrical conductivity and induces an energy-filtering effect, decoupling electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient to achieve an impressive power factor of 37 μW cm−1 K−2 at 300 K. The high-intensity between Ag2Se and reduced graphene oxide interfaces enhance phonon scattering, effectively reducing thermal conductivity to below 0.9 W m−1 K−1 and enabling the high ZT value. The nylon membrane endowed the film with exceptional flexibility. A large-scale out-of-plane device with 100 pairs of thermoelectric legs, assembled from these films, delivers an ultrahigh normalized power density of >9.8 μW cm−2 K−2, outperforming all reported Ag2Se-based flexible devices. When applied to the human body, the device generated sufficient power to operate a thermo-hygrometer and a wristwatch, demonstrating its practical potential for wearable electronics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1d02cfd80de84bb497797feba9280d88 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-1d02cfd80de84bb497797feba9280d882025-08-20T03:16:47ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-05-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-60284-5High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronicsLin Zhang0Xiao-Lei Shi1Hongjing Shang2Hongwei Gu3Wenyi Chen4Meng Li5Daxing Huang6Hao Dong7Xiaolei Wang8Fazhu Ding9Zhi-Gang Chen10Key Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity and Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesSchool of Chemistry and Physics, ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of TechnologyKey Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity and Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity and Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesSchool of Chemistry and Physics, ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of TechnologySchool of Chemistry and Physics, ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of TechnologyKey Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity and Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity and Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity and Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity and Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesSchool of Chemistry and Physics, ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of TechnologyAbstract Flexible thermoelectric materials and devices hold enormous potential for wearable electronics but are hindered by inadequate material properties and inefficient assembly techniques, leading to suboptimal performance. Herein, we developed a flexible thermoelectric film, comprising Ag2Se nanowires as the primary material, a nylon membrane as a flexible scaffold, and reduced graphene oxide as a conductive network, achieving a record-high room-temperature ZT of 1.28. Hot-pressed Ag2Se nanowires exhibited strong (013) orientation, enhancing carrier mobility and electrical conductivity. Dispersed reduced graphene oxide further boosts electrical conductivity and induces an energy-filtering effect, decoupling electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient to achieve an impressive power factor of 37 μW cm−1 K−2 at 300 K. The high-intensity between Ag2Se and reduced graphene oxide interfaces enhance phonon scattering, effectively reducing thermal conductivity to below 0.9 W m−1 K−1 and enabling the high ZT value. The nylon membrane endowed the film with exceptional flexibility. A large-scale out-of-plane device with 100 pairs of thermoelectric legs, assembled from these films, delivers an ultrahigh normalized power density of >9.8 μW cm−2 K−2, outperforming all reported Ag2Se-based flexible devices. When applied to the human body, the device generated sufficient power to operate a thermo-hygrometer and a wristwatch, demonstrating its practical potential for wearable electronics.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60284-5 |
| spellingShingle | Lin Zhang Xiao-Lei Shi Hongjing Shang Hongwei Gu Wenyi Chen Meng Li Daxing Huang Hao Dong Xiaolei Wang Fazhu Ding Zhi-Gang Chen High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics Nature Communications |
| title | High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics |
| title_full | High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics |
| title_fullStr | High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics |
| title_short | High-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics |
| title_sort | high performance ag2se based thermoelectrics for wearable electronics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60284-5 |
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