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Tian Y, Florenciano I, Xia H, Li Q, Baysal HE, Zhu D, Ramunni E, Meyers S, Yu TY, Baert K, Hauffman T, Nider S, Göksel B, Molina-Lopez F. Facile Fabrication of Flexible and High-Performing Thermoelectrics by Direct Laser Printing on Plastic Foil. Adv Mater 2024; 36:e2307945. [PMID: 38100238 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202307945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The emerging fields of wearables and the Internet of Things introduce the need for electronics and power sources with unconventional form factors: large area, customizable shape, and flexibility. Thermoelectric (TE) generators can power those systems by converting abundant waste heat into electricity, whereas the versatility of additive manufacturing suits heterogeneous form factors. Here, additive manufacturing of high-performing flexible TEs is proposed. Maskless and large-area patterning of Bi2Te3-based films is performed by laser powder bed fusion directly on plastic foil. Mechanical interlocking allows simultaneous patterning, sintering, and attachment of the films to the substrate without using organic binders that jeopardize the final performance. Material waste could be minimized by recycling the unexposed powder. The particular microstructure of the laser-printed material renders the-otherwise brittle-Bi2Te3 films highly flexible despite their high thickness. The films survive 500 extreme-bending cycles to a 0.76 mm radius. Power factors above 1500 µW m-1K-2 and a record-low sheet resistance for flexible TEs of 0.4 Ω sq-1 are achieved, leading to unprecedented potential for power generation. This versatile fabrication route enables innovative implementations, such as cuttable arrays adapting to specific applications in self-powered sensing, and energy harvesting from unusual scenarios like human skin and curved hot surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Tian
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Isidro Florenciano
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Heyi Xia
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Qiyuan Li
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Hasan Emre Baysal
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Daiman Zhu
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Eduardo Ramunni
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Sebastian Meyers
- KU Leuven, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Celestijnenlaan 300 - bus 2420, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Tzu-Yi Yu
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Kitty Baert
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Research Group Sustainable Materials Engineering (SUME), Lab Electrochemical and Surface Engineering (SURF), Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
| | - Tom Hauffman
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Research Group Sustainable Materials Engineering (SUME), Lab Electrochemical and Surface Engineering (SURF), Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
| | - Souhaila Nider
- KU Leuven, Department of Chemical Engineering, Celestijnenlaan 200J - bus 2424, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Berfu Göksel
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Francisco Molina-Lopez
- KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - bus 2450, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
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Hsu CP, Baysal HE, Wirenborn G, Mårtensson G, Prahl Wittberg L, Isa L. Roughness-dependent clogging of particle suspensions flowing into a constriction. Soft Matter 2021; 17:7252-7259. [PMID: 34318863 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00738f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
When concentrated particle suspensions flow into a constricting channel, the suspended particles may either smoothly flow through the constriction or jam and clog the channel. These clogging events are typically detrimental to technological processes, such as in the printing of dense pastes or in filtration, but can also be exploited in micro-separation applications. Many studies have to date focused on important parameters influencing the occurrence of clogs, such as flow velocity, particle concentration, and channel geometry. However, the investigation of the role played by the particle surface properties has surprisingly received little attention so far. Here, we study the effect of surface roughness on the clogging of suspensions of silica particles under pressure-driven flows along a microchannel presenting a constriction. We synthesize micron-sized particles with uniform surface chemistry and tunable roughness and determine the occurrence of clogging events as a function of velocity and volume fraction for a given surface topography. Our results show that there is a clear correlation between surface roughness and flow rate, indicating that rougher particles are more likely to jam at the constriction for slower flows. These findings identify surface roughness as an essential parameter to consider in the formulation of particulate suspensions for applications where clogging plays an important role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiao-Peng Hsu
- Laboratory for Soft Materials and Interfaces, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
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