Facile Fabrication of Cotton-Based Thermoelectric Yarns for the Construction of Textile Generator with High Performance in Human Heat Harvesting

Wangkai Jiang; Tingting Li; Bilqees Hussain; Suibo Zhou; Zheshan Wang; Yu Peng; Jianchen Hu; Ke-Qin Zhang

doi:10.1007/s42765-023-00305-4

Advanced Fiber Materials ›› 2023, Vol. 5 ›› Issue (5) : 1725 -1736. DOI: 10.1007/s42765-023-00305-4

Research Article

Facile Fabrication of Cotton-Based Thermoelectric Yarns for the Construction of Textile Generator with High Performance in Human Heat Harvesting

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¹National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, 215123, Suzhou, China

²College of Advanced Material Engineering, Jiaxing Nuhu University, 314001, Jiaxing, China

³Nantong Textile & Silk Industrial Technology Research Institute, 226300, Nantong, Jiangsu, China

^g hujianchen@suda.edu.cn

^h kqzhang@suda.edu.cn

Wangkai Jiang

is a PhD candidate of the College of Textile and Clothing Engineering in Soochow University. His current research focuses on wearable thermoelectric and thermal management fabric.

Tingting Li

received her Master's degree in the College of Textile and Clothing Engineering in Soochow University in 2022. Her research focused on 3D printing aerogel materials for thermal insulation during the postgraduate period.

Bilqees Hussain

is a PhD candidate in the College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University. She received her Master's degree in in the College of Textile and Clothing Engineering in Soochow University in 2021. Her current research focuses on the fabrication of highly flame retardant and superhydrophobic nanocoatings on textile fabrics and exploring their practical applications like fire alarm sensors.

Suibo Zhou

received his Master's degree in College of Textile and Clothing Engineering in Soochow University in 2022. His research focused on fabric-based triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting human mechanical energy during the postgraduate period.

Zheshan Wang

is a Master candidate in the College of Textile and Clothing Engineering at Soochow University. His research focuses on smart wearable devices, triboelectric nanogenerators and smart textiles.

Yu Peng

is a lecturer in college of Advanced Material Engineering in Jiaxing Nanhu University. She received her PhD degree from Soochow University in 2022. Her current research focuses on the anode materials of lithium-ion battery and applications of fibers in wearable devices.

Jianchen Hu

is an associated professor in National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk and College of Textile and Clothing Engineering of Soochow University. His current research focuses on electrical application of fiber materials in fabric based wearable devices, especially the synergistic effect of carbon based fibers and metals.

Ke-Qin Zhang

has been a professor in National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk and College of Textile and Clothing Engineering of Soochow University since 2009. He received his PhD degree from Nanjing University in 2000. His research interests include fabrication, modification and functionalization of fibers in different scales, as well as the applications of fiber materials in wearable devices.

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Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) textiles which can harvest thermal energy from the human body, are highly desirable and vital to the charging of wearable electronics owing to their stable and long-term power output. The typical carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns or bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) based inorganic TE materials used hitherto limit the development of TE textiles, because of their high cost and rareness. In this work, scalable and high-TE performance carbon nanotube composite yarns (CNTYs) are developed using p- and n-type tuneable multi-wall CNTs and single-wall CNTs as TE materials and waterborne polyurethane (WPU) as the binder. The mechanical properties of the CNTYs are tuned and improved considerably by adding a small amount of WPU. Furthermore, TE yarns with p- and n-type segmented structures are prepared by treating CNTYs with poly(3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate solution and n-type dopant polyetherimide, respectively. Based on the prepared p- and n-type segmented TE yarns, a TE textile with 75 p–n pairs that achieve outstanding TE output is fabricated. The TE textile can generate a high power density of 95.74 μW m⁻² with a voltage density of 3.76 V m⁻² at a temperature difference of 32 K. It provides an output voltage of ~ 37 mV outdoors (~ 12 ℃) when worn on the arm and demonstrates potential application to electronic devices after amplification. The fabrication method used in this study is not only a low-cost, scalable for preparing high-performance TE yarns but also realizes the body heat harvesting and temperature sensing of yarn-based TE textiles.

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Wangkai Jiang, Tingting Li, Bilqees Hussain, Suibo Zhou, Zheshan Wang, Yu Peng, Jianchen Hu, Ke-Qin Zhang. Facile Fabrication of Cotton-Based Thermoelectric Yarns for the Construction of Textile Generator with High Performance in Human Heat Harvesting. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2023, 5(5): 1725-1736 DOI:10.1007/s42765-023-00305-4