Flexible thermoelectrics based on ductile semiconductors

Flexible thermoelectrics provide a different solution for developing portable and sustainable flexible power supplies. The discovery of silver sulfide-based ductile semiconductors has driven a shift in the potential for flexible thermoelectrics, but the lack of good p-type ductile thermoelectric materials has restricted the reality of fabricating conventional cross-plane pi-shaped flexible devices. We report a series of high-performance p-type ductile thermoelectric materials based on the composition-performance phase diagram in AgCu(Se,S,Te) pseudoternary solid solutions, with high figure-of-merit values (0.45 at 300 kelvin and 0.68 at 340 kelvin) compared with other flexible thermoelectric materials. We further demonstrate thin and flexible pi-shaped devices with a maximum normalized power density that reaches 30 mu W cm(-2) K-2. This output is promising for the use of flexible thermoelectrics in wearable electronics.

Automated summary

A series of high-performance p-type ductile thermoelectric materials based on silver sulfide-based ductile semiconductors has been developed, which show great potential for use in flexible thermoelectric devices. Thin and flexible pi-shaped devices with high power density have been successfully demonstrated.