Ionic thermoelectric materials for waste heat harvesting

Ionic thermoelectric polymers are a new class of materials with great potential for use in low-grade waste heat harvesting and the field has seen much progress during the recent years. In this work, we briefly review the working mechanism of such materials, the main advances in the field and the main criteria for performance comparison. We examine two types of polymer-based ionic thermoelectric materials: ionic conductive polymer and ionogels. Moreover, as a comparison, we also examine the more conventional ionic liquid electrolytes. Their performance, possible directions of improvements and potential applications have been evaluated.

Automated summary

Ionic thermoelectric polymers are a promising class of materials for low-grade waste heat harvesting, with recent advances in both ionic conductive polymers and ionogels. This work also compares them with conventional ionic liquid electrolytes, evaluating their performance, possible improvements, and potential applications in the field.