Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers
Abstract Here, we design exotic interfaces within a flexible thermoelectric device, incorporating a polyimide substrate, Ti contact layer, Cu electrode, Ti barrier layer, and thermoelectric thin film. The device features 162 pairs of thin-film legs with high room-temperature performance, using p-Bi0...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56015-5 |
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| author | Ming Tan Xiao-Lei Shi Wei-Di Liu Yong Jiang Si-Qi Liu Tianyi Cao Wenyi Chen Meng Li Tong Lin Yuan Deng Shaomin Liu Zhi-Gang Chen |
| author_facet | Ming Tan Xiao-Lei Shi Wei-Di Liu Yong Jiang Si-Qi Liu Tianyi Cao Wenyi Chen Meng Li Tong Lin Yuan Deng Shaomin Liu Zhi-Gang Chen |
| author_sort | Ming Tan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Here, we design exotic interfaces within a flexible thermoelectric device, incorporating a polyimide substrate, Ti contact layer, Cu electrode, Ti barrier layer, and thermoelectric thin film. The device features 162 pairs of thin-film legs with high room-temperature performance, using p-Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and n-Bi2Te2.7Se0.3, with figure-of-merit values of 1.39 and 1.44, respectively. The 10 nm Ti contact layer creates a strong bond between the substrate and the Cu electrode, while the 10 nm Ti barrier layer significantly reduces internal resistance and enhances the tightness between thermoelectric thin films and Cu electrodes. This enables both exceptional flexibility and an impressive power density of 108 μW cm−2 under a temperature difference of just 5 K, with a normalized power density exceeding 4 μW cm−2 K−2. When attached to a 50 °C irregular heat source, three series-connected devices generate 1.85 V, powering a light-emitting diode without the need for an additional heat sink or booster. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ab5b56cf9d384d3b8bc5b4a9d236c505 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-ab5b56cf9d384d3b8bc5b4a9d236c5052025-01-19T12:31:54ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111210.1038/s41467-025-56015-5Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layersMing Tan0Xiao-Lei Shi1Wei-Di Liu2Yong Jiang3Si-Qi Liu4Tianyi Cao5Wenyi Chen6Meng Li7Tong Lin8Yuan Deng9Shaomin Liu10Zhi-Gang Chen11School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong UniversitySchool 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 TechnologySchool of Electronics and Information Engineering, Tiangong UniversitySchool 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 TechnologySchool 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 TechnologySchool of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong UniversityKey Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing Materials and Chip Integration Technology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou Innovation Institute of Beihang UniversitySchool of Engineering, Great Bay UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Physics, ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of TechnologyAbstract Here, we design exotic interfaces within a flexible thermoelectric device, incorporating a polyimide substrate, Ti contact layer, Cu electrode, Ti barrier layer, and thermoelectric thin film. The device features 162 pairs of thin-film legs with high room-temperature performance, using p-Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and n-Bi2Te2.7Se0.3, with figure-of-merit values of 1.39 and 1.44, respectively. The 10 nm Ti contact layer creates a strong bond between the substrate and the Cu electrode, while the 10 nm Ti barrier layer significantly reduces internal resistance and enhances the tightness between thermoelectric thin films and Cu electrodes. This enables both exceptional flexibility and an impressive power density of 108 μW cm−2 under a temperature difference of just 5 K, with a normalized power density exceeding 4 μW cm−2 K−2. When attached to a 50 °C irregular heat source, three series-connected devices generate 1.85 V, powering a light-emitting diode without the need for an additional heat sink or booster.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56015-5 |
| spellingShingle | Ming Tan Xiao-Lei Shi Wei-Di Liu Yong Jiang Si-Qi Liu Tianyi Cao Wenyi Chen Meng Li Tong Lin Yuan Deng Shaomin Liu Zhi-Gang Chen Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers Nature Communications |
| title | Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers |
| title_full | Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers |
| title_fullStr | Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers |
| title_short | Enabling ultra-flexible inorganic thin-film-based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers |
| title_sort | enabling ultra flexible inorganic thin film based thermoelectric devices by introducing nanoscale titanium layers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56015-5 |
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