Self-Healable and Stretchable PAAc/XG/Bi2Se0.3Te2.7 Hybrid Hydrogel Thermoelectric Materials

Abstract

Thermoelectric power generators have attracted increasing interest in recent years owing to their great potential in wearable electronics power supply. It is noted that thermoelectric power generators are easy to damage in the dynamic service process, resulting in the formation of microcracks and performance degradation. Herein, we prepare a new hybrid hydrogel thermoelectric material PAAc/XG/Bi2Se0.3Te2.7 by an in situ polymerization method, which shows a high stretchable and self-healable performance, as well as a good thermoelectric performance. For the sample with Bi2Se0.3Te2.7 content of 1.5 wt% (i.e., PAAc/XG/Bi2Se0.3Te2.7 (1.5 wt%)), which has a room temperature Seebeck coefficient of −0.45 mV K−1, and exhibits an open-circuit voltage of −17.91 mV and output power of 38.1 nW at a temperature difference of 40 K. After being completely cut off, the hybrid thermoelectric hydrogel automatically recovers its electrical characteristics within a response time of 2.0 s, and the healed hydrogel remains more than 99% of its initial power output. Such stretchable and self-healable hybrid hydrogel thermoelectric materials show promising potential for application in dynamic service conditions, such as wearable electronics.