An Approach to a Flexible Thermoelectric Generator Fabricated using Bulk Materials

A prototype flexible thermoelectric generator fabricated with bulk materials is presented. Mineral-fiber band and copper tape are used as flexible substrate and electric connectors, respectively, to coil up the constructed thermoelectric device under investigation. The applied active thermoelectric materials are Ca3Co4O9${\rm{C}}{{\rm{a}}_{\rm{3}}}{\rm{C}}{{\rm{o}}_{\rm{4}}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{9}}}$ ceramic and Cu-Ni alloy for hole and electron conduction, respectively. Thermal parallel and electric series connections of the mentioned materials were realized in the prototype flexible thermoelectric generator. The device delivered an open-circuit voltage of 16.52 mV and a short-circuit current of 19.40 μA${\rm{\mu A}}$ with a temperature difference of ΔTTEG=31 K${\rm{\Delta}}{{\rm{T}}_{{\rm{TEG}}}}{\rm{= 31\ K}}$ for the hot side temperature of 420 K. The device exhibits an approximately 3 cm long stripe that include four basic units (n-p pair and electric connector).