3D-Printed Porous Thermoelectrics for In Situ Energy Harvesting

Abstract

The rapid growth of industrialization has resulted in an tremendous increase in energy demands. The vast amount of untapped waste heat found in factories and power plants can be harnessed to power devices. Thermoelectric materials enable a clean conversion of heat to electrical energy and vice versa, without the need for moving parts. However, existing thermoelectric generators are limited to capturing heat from exterior surfaces. Additive manufacturing offers itself as a cost-effective process that produces complex parts which can recover waste heat from direct heat flows. Herein, we report the first ever in situ energy harvester through porous 3D thermoelectrics. Complex 3D-printed Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 open cellular structures of high specific surface area are fabricated to allow a high rate of heat transfer throughout the heat pipes with negligible effect on the liquid flow. This work opens up exciting possibilities of energy harvesting from natural self-sustaining thermal gradients found in exhaust pipes and heat exchangers.