Objective
The rise of wearable electronics has driven the demand for innovative energy harvesting solutions that offer sustainable power without relying on bulky batteries. Organic thermoelectric generators (OTEGs), which convert temperature gradients (T) from the body heat into electricity, are promising candidates due to their skin compatibility, flexibility, thinness, and biocompatibility. However, current OTEGs face challenges in being used as wearables because it is difficult to create a T in response to body heat, which typically moves in a vertical direction. State-of-the art 3D OTEG designs addressing this issue often sacrifice the thinness, flexibility and durabilitykey strengths of traditional OTEGs for wearable applications. To overcome these challenges, we propose transverse OTEGs (t-OTEGs) that generate electricity perpendicular to the heat flow, retaining the inherent advantages of 2D thin-film OTEGs. The key of the t-OTEGs is an engineered dual- substrate, composed of materials with different thermal conductivities (), which creates a lateral T from orthogonal heat flows, enabling efficient energy conversion in a 2D thin-film platform. The primary goal of this project is to develop wearable t-OTEG technologies that utilize a versatile 2D thin-film platform to harvest the heat emitted by human skin, making them practical for real-world wearable applications and effectively replacing already proposed wearable OTEGs. To achieve this, the research will focus on the development and optimization of the dual- substrate, the scalable design of t-OTEGs through advanced printing techniques, and their integration into wearable applications. Successfully completing this project will revolutionize OTEG technology, providing a scalable, sustainable, and flexible power solution for wearable electronics, setting new benchmarks in thermoelectric energy harvesting, and contributing to global sustainability efforts by reducing reliance on disposable batteries.
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