Self-assembled aerogel sheet electrodes of thermocells for low-grade heat harvest  

作　　者：Ziwei Mo Shouhao Wei Daibin Xie Kaihua Zhu Hongxiong Li Xin Lu Lirong Liang Chunyu Du Zhuoxin Liu Guangming Chen 

机构地区：[1]College of Materials Science and Engineering,Shenzhen University,Shenzhen 518055,China [2]State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering,Sichuan University,Chengdu 610065,China

出　　处：《Science China Chemistry》2024年第5期1672-1679,共8页中国科学（化学英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52103089, 52242305);Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2023A1515012120);Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (JCYJ20220531100815035, RCBS202210-08093126069);the Opening Project of State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering (sklpme2022-4-08)。

摘　　要：Efficiently harvesting low-grade heat is crucial for sustainable energy management. Thermocells(TECs), inducing heat-toelectricity conversion via the thermogalvanic effect, have thus drawn tremendous attention in recent years. This study introduces a self-assembly approach for fabricating aerogel sheet electrodes(ASEs) tailored for TECs. The crafted ASEs retain a remarkable porous architecture with approximately 95% porosity, even with their slimmed-down thickness. Results reveal that the electrode composition has minimal influence on the thermopower of TECs. Notably, the porous ASE with tunned composition demonstrates an optimal effective surface area for the thermogalvanic effect, resulting in enhanced output current density. This balances the desirable traits of electrode compactness with abundant redox active sites, positioning it favorably against conventional bulky electrode designs. The TECs utilizing the optimized ASE achieve a peak output power of 22.10 μW cm^(-2)under a temperature difference of 30 K. Furthermore, a tubular TEC device is readily assembled and specially designed for harvesting heat energy from hot fluids. These findings underscore the potential of composite electrodes in the realm of low-grade heat harvest, paving the way for broader applications in sustainable energy solutions.

关 键 词：thermocells low-grade heat harvest energy conversion composite electrodes 

分 类 号：O646[理学—物理化学] TM915[理学—化学]