Issue

Vol. 17 (2025)

An Ultra-Thin Wearable Thermoelectric Paster Based on Structured Organic Ion Gel Electrolyte

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01721-4
Zhijian Du
School of Integrated Circuits and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
La Li
School of Integrated Circuits and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China
Guozhen Shen
School of Integrated Circuits and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Guozhen Shen

gzshen@bit.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 204

Abstract

Thermoelectric technology that utilizes thermodynamic effects to convert thermal energy into electrical energy has greatly expanded wearable health monitoring, personalized detecting, and communicating applications. Encouragingly, thermoelectric technology assisted by artificial intelligence exerts great development potential in wearable electronic devices that rely on the self-sustainable operation of human body heat. Ionic thermoelectric (i-TE) devices that possess high Seebeck coefficients and a constant and stable electrical output are expected to achieve an effective conversation of thermal energy harvesting. Herein, we developed an i-TE paster for thermal chargeable energy storage, temperature-triggered material recognition, contact/non-contact temperature detection, and photo thermoelectric conversion applications. An all-solid-state organic ionic gel electrolyte (PVDF-HFP-PEO gel) with onion epidermal cells-like structure was sandwiched between two electrodes, which take full advantage of a synergy between the Soret effect and the polymer thermal expansion effect, thus achieving the enhanced ZT value up to 900% compared with the PEO-free electrolyte. The i-TE device delivers a Seebeck coefficient of 28 mV K−1, a maximum energy conversion efficiency of 1.3% in performance, and ultra-thin and skin-attachable properties in wearability, which demonstrate the great potential and application prospect of the i-TE paster in self-sustainable wearable electronics.


Highlights:
1 All-solid-state organic ion gel electrolyte with superior thermal tolerance capability and environmental stability can well penetrate into the electrodes of thermoelectric paster to ensure an excellent interfacial contact.
2 Inspired by the “onion epidermal cells” structure, the organic ion gel electrolyte supported by a porous polymer skeleton offers a considerable ZT figure according to the thermal expansion effect.
3 Considering the compatibility between electrode and electrolyte, an ultrathin and skin-attachable i-TE paster was assembled to acquire a satisfactory Seebeck coefficient and used in various applications.

Keywords

Flexible thermoelectric devices Ionic thermoelectric Organic ion gel Solvation effect Thermally rechargeable supercapacitor
Du, Zhijian, La Li, and Guozhen Shen. 2025. “An Ultra-Thin Wearable Thermoelectric Paster Based on Structured Organic Ion Gel Electrolyte”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (March):204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01721-4.
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