Xin Jiwu, Basit Abdul, Li Sihui, Danto Sylvain, Tjin Swee Chuan, Wei Lei
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Department of Physics, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City 50074, Taiwan.
Sensors (Basel). 2021 May 14;21(10):3437. doi: 10.3390/s21103437.
Thermoelectric technology can directly harvest the waste heat into electricity, which is a promising field of green and sustainable energy. In this aspect, flexible thermoelectrics (FTE) such as wearable fabrics, smart biosensing, and biomedical electronics offer a variety of applications. Since the nanofibers are one of the important constructions of FTE, inorganic thermoelectric fibers are focused on here due to their excellent thermoelectric performance and acceptable flexibility. Additionally, measurement and microstructure characterizations for various thermoelectric fibers (Bi-Sb-Te, AgTe, PbTe, SnSe and NaCoO) made by different fabrication methods, such as electrospinning, two-step anodization process, solution-phase deposition method, focused ion beam, and self-heated 3ω method, are detailed. This review further illustrates that some techniques, such as thermal drawing method, result in high performance of fiber-based thermoelectric properties, which can emerge in wearable devices and smart electronics in the near future.
热电技术能够直接将废热转化为电能，这是绿色可持续能源领域中一个很有前景的方向。在这方面，诸如可穿戴织物、智能生物传感和生物医学电子等柔性热电材料有着广泛的应用。由于纳米纤维是柔性热电材料的重要结构之一，无机热电纤维因其优异的热电性能和可接受的柔韧性而受到关注。此外，还详细介绍了通过不同制造方法（如静电纺丝、两步阳极氧化工艺、溶液相沉积法、聚焦离子束和自热3ω法）制备的各种热电纤维（Bi-Sb-Te、AgTe、PbTe、SnSe和NaCoO）的测量和微观结构表征。这篇综述进一步表明，一些技术，如热拉伸法，能够实现基于纤维的高性能热电特性，这些特性在不久的将来可能会出现在可穿戴设备和智能电子产品中。
