skip to main content

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 11:00 PM ET on Friday, March 22 until 6:00 AM ET on Saturday, March 23 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Title: Colossal thermo-hydro-electrochemical voltage generation for self-sustainable operation of electronics
Abstract

Thermoelectrics are suited to converting dissipated heat into electricity for operating electronics, but the small voltage (~0.1 mV K−1) from the Seebeck effect has been one of the major hurdles in practical implementation. Here an approach with thermo-hydro-electrochemical effects can generate a large thermal-to-electrical energy conversion factor (TtoE factor), −87 mV K−1with low-cost carbon steel electrodes and a solid-state polyelectrolyte made of polyaniline and polystyrene sulfonate (PANI:PSS). We discovered that the thermo-diffusion of water in PANI:PSS under a temperature gradient induced less (or more) water on the hotter (or colder) side, raising (or lowering) the corrosion overpotential in the hotter (or colder) side and thereby generating output power between the electrodes. Our findings are expected to facilitate subsequent research for further increasing the TtoE factor and utilizing dissipated thermal energy.

 
more » « less
Award ID(s):
1805963
NSF-PAR ID:
10308040
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Nature Publishing Group
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Volume:
12
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2041-1723
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    This paper reports the first integration of laser‐etched polycrystalline diamond microchannels with template‐fabricated microporous copper for extreme convective boiling in a composite heat sink for power electronics and energy conversion. Diamond offers the highest thermal conductivity near room temperature, and enables aggressive heat spreading along triangular channel walls with 1:1 aspect ratio. Conformally coated porous copper with thickness 25 µm and 5 µm pore size optimizes fluid and heat transport for convective boiling within the diamond channels. Data reported here include 1280 W cm−2of heat removal from 0.7 cm2surface area with temperature rise beyond fluid saturation less than 21 K, corresponding to 6.3 × 105W m−2K−1. This heat sink has the potential to dissipate much larger localized heat loads with small temperature nonuniformity (5 kW cm−2over 200 µm × 200 µm with <3 K temperature difference). A microfluidic manifold assures uniform distribution of liquid over the heat sink surface with negligible pumping power requirements (e.g., <1.4 × 10−4of the thermal power dissipated). This breakthrough integration of functional materials and the resulting experimental data set a very high bar for microfluidic heat removal.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    Stretchable supercapacitors have received increasing attention due to their broad applications in developing self‐powered stretchable electronics for wearable electronics, epidermal and implantable electronics, and biomedical devices that are capable of sustaining large deformations and conforming to complicated surfaces. In this work, a new type of highly stretchable and reliable supercapacitor is developed based on crumpled vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) forests transferred onto an elastomer substrate with the assistance of a thermal annealing process in atmosphere environment. The crumpled CNT‐forest electrodes demonstrated good electrochemical performance and stability under either uniaxial (300%) or biaxial strains (300% × 300%) for thousands of stretching–relaxing cycles. The resulting supercapacitors can sustain a stretchability of 800% and possess a specific capacitance of 5 mF cm−2at the scan rate of 50 mV s−1. Furthermore, the crumpled CNT‐forest electrodes can be easily decorated with impregnated metal oxide nanoparticles to improve the specific capacitance and energy density of the supercapacitors. The approach developed in this work offers an alternative strategy for developing novel stretchable energy devices with vertically aligned nanotubes or nanowires for advanced applications in stretchable, flexible, and wearable electronic systems.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract

    A new class of high‐temperature dipolar polymers based on sulfonylated poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) (SO2‐PPO) was synthesized by post‐polymer functionalization. Owing to the efficient rotation of highly polar methylsulfonyl side groups below the glass transition temperature (Tg≈220 °C), the dipolar polarization of these SO2‐PPOs was enhanced, and thus the dielectric constant was high. Consequently, the discharge energy density reached up to 22 J cm−3. Owing to its highTg , the SO2‐PPO25sample also exhibited a low dielectric loss. For example, the dissipation factor (tan δ) was 0.003, and the discharge efficiency at 800 MV m−1was 92 %. Therefore, these dipolar glass polymers are promising for high‐temperature, high‐energy‐density, and low‐loss electrical energy storage applications.

     
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    A new class of high‐temperature dipolar polymers based on sulfonylated poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) (SO2‐PPO) was synthesized by post‐polymer functionalization. Owing to the efficient rotation of highly polar methylsulfonyl side groups below the glass transition temperature (Tg≈220 °C), the dipolar polarization of these SO2‐PPOs was enhanced, and thus the dielectric constant was high. Consequently, the discharge energy density reached up to 22 J cm−3. Owing to its highTg , the SO2‐PPO25sample also exhibited a low dielectric loss. For example, the dissipation factor (tan δ) was 0.003, and the discharge efficiency at 800 MV m−1was 92 %. Therefore, these dipolar glass polymers are promising for high‐temperature, high‐energy‐density, and low‐loss electrical energy storage applications.

     
    more » « less
  5. null (Ed.)
    Low efficiency in recovering low-grade heat remains unresolved despite decades of attempts. In this research, we designed and fabricated a novel thermo-osmotic ionogel (TOI) composite to recover low-grade heat to generate electric power through a thermo-induced ion gradient and selective ion diffusion. The TOI composite was assembled with a crystalline ionogel (polymer-confined LiNO 3 –3H 2 O) film, ion selective membrane, and hydrogel film. With a 90 °C heat supply, the single TOI composite produced a high open-circuit voltage of 0.52 V, a differential thermal voltage of ∼26 mV K −1 , a peak power density of 0.4 W m −2 , and a ground-breaking peak energy conversion efficiency of 11.17%. Eight pieces of such a TOI composite were connected in series, demonstrating an open-circuit voltage of 3.25 volts. Such a TOI system was also demonstrated to harvest body temperature for powering a LED, opening numerous opportunities in powering wearable devices. 
    more » « less