(Press-News.org) Thermoelectric generators, TEGs for short, convert ambient heat into electrical power. They enable maintenance-free, environmentally friendly, and autonomous power supply of the continuously growing number of sensors and devices for the Internet of Things (IoT) and recovery of waste heat. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed three-dimensional component architectures based on novel, printable thermoelectric materials. This might be a milestone on the way towards use of inexpensive TEGs. The results are reported in npj Flexible Electronics (DOI: 10.1038/s41528-020-00098-1) and ACS Energy Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.0c02159).
"Thermoelectric generators directly convert thermal into electrical energy. This technology enables operation of autonomous sensors for the Internet of Things or in wearables, such as smart watches, fitness trackers, or digital glasses without batteries," says Professor Uli Lemmer, Head of the Light Technology Institute (LTI) of KIT. In addition, they might be used for the recovery of waste heat in industry and heating systems or in the geothermal energy sector.
New Printing Processes Thanks to Customized Inks
"Conventional TEGs have to be assembled from individual components using relatively complex manufacturing methods," Lemmer says. "To avoid this, we studied novel printable materials and developed two innovative processes and inks based on organic as well as on inorganic nanoparticles." These processes and inks can be used to produce inexpensive, three-dimensional printed TEGs.
The first process uses screen printing to apply a 2D pattern onto an ultrathin flexible substrate foil using thermoelectric printing inks. Then, a generator having about the size of a sugar cube is folded by means of an origami technique. This method has been developed jointly by KIT researchers, the Heidelberg Innovation Lab, and a spinoff of KIT. The second process consists in printing a 3D scaffold, to the surfaces of which the thermoelectric ink is applied.
Cost Reduction by Printing Technologies
Lemmer is convinced that scalable production processes, such as roll-to-roll screen printing or modern additive manufacturing (3D printing) are key technologies. "The new production processes not only enable inexpensive scalable production of these TEGs. Printing technologies also allow the component to be adapted to the applications. We are now working on commercializing the printed thermoelectrical system.
INFORMATION:
Research was carried out within the 3DMM2O cluster of excellence and was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the MERAGEM Graduate School, and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU).
Original Publications:
Andres Georg Rösch, André Gall, Silas Aslan, Matthias Hecht, Leonard Franke, Md. Mofasser Mallick, Lara Penth, Daniel Bahro, Daniel Friderich, and Ulrich Lemmer: Fully printed origami thermoelectric generators for energy-harvesting. npj Flex Electron 5, 1 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-020-00098-1
Md Mofasser Mallick, Leonard Franke, Andres Georg Rösch, and Uli Lemmer: Shape-Versatile 3D Thermoelectric Generators by Additive Manufacturing. ACS Energy Lett. 6, 85 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.0c02159
Press Contact:
Sandra Wiebe,
Press Officer,
Phone: +49 721 608-41172,
sandra.wiebe@kit.edu
Being "The Research University in the Helmholtz Association", KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,300 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 24,400 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
The scientific novelty of the work of scientists from Ural Federal University, Institute of Solid State Chemistry and Geology and Geochemistry of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences lies in the fact that for the first time scientists solved the task of creating zircon with certain spectral properties. To this end, they have worked out the so-called sol-gel method.
It is distinguished by its technological simplicity, controllability of processes and allows synthesizing a larger volume of products with high purity than with other ...
Using patient data, artificial intelligence can make a 90 percent accurate assessment of whether a person will die from COVID-19 or not, according to new research at the University of Copenhagen. Body mass index (BMI), gender and high blood pressure are among the most heavily weighted factors. The research can be used to predict the number of patients in hospitals, who will need a respirator and determine who ought to be first in line for a vaccination.
Artificial intelligence is able to predict who is most likely to die from the coronavirus. In doing so, it can also help decide who should be at the front of the line for the precious vaccines now being administered across Denmark.
The result is from a newly published study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Department ...
- World's wildlife, from giraffes to voles, kangaroos to coyotes being hit by aircraft.
- Study identifies incidences at airports in 47 countries across the globe.
- 'Runway Roadkill' increasing by up to 68% annually and has caused damage that has cost in excess of $103 million in the United States alone over a 30 year period.
- It is hoped study could pave way for international efforts to protect wildlife and reduce costly aircraft damage.
From giraffes to the world's smallest mammals, the world's wildlife is being increasingly struck by aircraft, a global study finds.
Airports from Sydney to London and the USA to Germany were examined by researchers who ...
LEBANON, NH - Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) is the first cancer center in the world to install BeamSite Cherenkov imaging cameras in its radiotherapy treatment rooms. The camera system, invented, validated and commercialized by entrepreneurs from NCCC and Dartmouth spinoff biomed tech company, DoseOptics, LLC, captures imaging and real-time video of the beam directly on the patient, allowing the radiation oncology team to visualize treatment delivery.
Cherenkov imaging makes radiation treatment a visual process. The Cherenkov effect occurs when photon or electron radiation beams interact with tissue, such as skin, producing a small light ...
University of Texas at Arlington researchers have developed a technique that programs 2D materials to transform into complex 3D shapes.
The goal of the work is to create synthetic materials that can mimic how living organisms expand and contract soft tissues and thus achieve complex 3D movements and functions. Programming thin sheets, or 2D materials, to morph into 3D shapes can enable new technologies for soft robotics, deployable systems, and biomimetic manufacturing, which produces synthetic products that mimic biological processes.
Kyungsuk Yum, an associate professor in the Materials ...
URBANA, Ill. ¬- Mealtimes are a central aspect of family life, affecting the health and wellbeing of both children and adults. Although the benefits of healthy mealtimes are straightforward, helping all families realize those benefits is quite complicated, new research from University of Illinois shows.
The study highlights ways in which some solutions - such as an exclusive focus on improving food access or on improving mealtime preparation and organization skills - may be less effective if done in isolation, says Allen Barton, assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at ...
Researchers from Kumamoto University (Japan) have clarified the mechanism by which blood and lymph vessels remain segregated from one another after development. The characteristics and structures of these two vessel types are very similar, and how they maintain separation has remained unexplained for many years. In this study, researchers found that the molecule Folliculin (FLCN) in vascular endothelial cells acts as a gatekeeper to maintain that separation.
Blood and lymphatic vessels form independent networks until the final confluence at the left and right venous angles in the neck. Blood vessels act as a pipeline that ...
We've all felt stressed at some point, whether in our personal or professional lives or in response to exceptional circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic. But until now there has been no way to quantify stress levels in an objective manner.
That could soon change thanks to a small wearable sensor developed by engineers at EPFL's Nanoelectronic Devices Laboratory (Nanolab) and Xsensio. The device can be placed directly on a patient's skin and can continually measure the concentration of cortisol, the main stress biomarker, in the patient's sweat.
Cortisol: A double-edged sword
Cortisol is a steroid hormone ...
The group led by Dr. Enrique J. Calderón - "Clinical Epidemiology and Vascular Risk" at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville - IBiS/University Hospitals Virgen del Rocío and Macarena/CSIC/University of Seville, also a member of CIBERESP, participated in a project with researchers from CIBER-BBN, in which they developed systems to detect Pneumocystis jirovecii, an atypical fungus responsible for very severe pneumonia in immunosuppressed patients. The results have been published in the journals Nanomaterials and Journal of Fungi, and are the fruit of collaboration with the CIBER-BBN groups led by Dr. Laura Lechuga, ...
The spinal column consists of 24 vertebrae that provide axial support to the torso and protection to the spinal cord that runs through its central cavity. The vertebrae are connected by means of intervertebral discs. These discs are highly hydrated, flexible and highly mechanically resistant. They allow the column its flexibility and act as shock absorbers during daily activities such as walking, running and in impact situations, such as jumping.
These unique features are made possible by the discs' tissue composition and structure. At its centre, there is a gel-like ...
