Fabrication and Planar Cooling Performance of Flexible Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/Epoxy Composite Thermoelectric Films

Abstract

Flexible Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/epoxy composite thermoelectric films were prepared on polyimide substrates by screen printing. Its electrical transport properties are enhanced by optimizing the content of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 powder. The highest power factor of the optimized Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/epoxy films reached 1.12 mW•m-1•K-2 at 300 K, increased by 33% as compared with previous value. The anti-bending test results show that resistance of the thick films remains unchanged when the bending radius is over 20 mm and slightly increases within 3000 bending cycles when the bending radius is 20 mm, implying that the as-prepared films have potential application in flexible TE devices. The flexible thermoelectric leg could establish a temperature difference from 4.2 ℃ to 7.8 ℃ under working current from 0.01 A to 0.05 A, showing potential application in planar cooling field.