Project description
Stretchable skin-like nanocomposites: a new class of thermoelectrics
Wearable technology is booming in areas spanning from consumer goods to healthcare, finance and even worker safety. As these devices become increasingly complex, their energy requirements increase. Self-powered systems using thermoelectrics to convert body heat directly into electrical energy have great potential. However, this potential is hindered by the high thermal contact resistance of current substrate materials due to their poor contact with the skin and their insulating nature. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BEST-TEC project aims to overcome these challenges with new, skin-like nanocomposites. These materials will feature high mechanical compliance and tuneable heat/electrical transport along preferential directions, enabling a tenfold increase in performance when used as a substrate for skin thermoelectric devices.
Objective
As the world is rapidly adopting wearable technology, the demand for efficient, self-powering devices is becoming increasingly critical. Thermoelectrics (TEs) are important because they can convert body heat directly into electrical energy to power wearable electronics and enable efficient on-skin heating/cooling for applications such as skin thermoregulation. Existing wearable TE devices inevitably face reduced energy conversion efficiency due to 1) high contact thermal resistance at the interface between the substrate and the skin due to non-conformal contact and poor attachment; 2) high parasitic thermal resistance across the substrate, which is typically a thermally insulating flexible polymer; and 3) high electrical contact resistance between the TE legs and their interconnects due to a poor electromechanical interface. In BEST-TEC, I target a 3-in-1 solution to these challenges by proposing novel skin-like nanocomposites with high mechanical compliance and tunable heat/electrical transport across preferential directions. Used as a substrate for skin thermoelectric (sTE) devices, these nanocomposites will result in a tenfold increase in performance.
BEST-TEC is innovative because while most sTE research to date has focused on the development of new materials and device architectures, BEST-TEC addresses a largely overlooked aspect that is currently holding back device performance - the substrate and its interfaces. The project is timely because it will enable new wearable biomedical devices, needed more than ever in our aging population. As the project lead, I possess a robust background in wearables, nanotechnology, and device engineering. My customized devices have been used on diverse surfaces, such as marine animals and human skin, new racing cars, and drones, underscoring my ability to deliver versatile impactful solutions. With an understanding of the challenges faced by sTE devices, I aim to pioneer the advancement of the field.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternetinternet of things
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronics
- engineering and technologynanotechnology
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringnanocomposites
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsenergy conversion
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Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
3000 Leuven
Belgium