Kang Yimeng, Li Peng, Liang Linlong, Kuang Nianling, Yao Guang, Huang Zhenlong, Lin Yuan, Jiang Binbin
School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China.
Shenzhen Institute for Advanced Study, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen 518110, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2025 Apr 23;17(16):24030-24039. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5c03010. Epub 2025 Apr 14.
Thermoelectric generators have a promising application in the field of sustainable energy due to their ability to utilize low-grade waste heat and their high reliability. The sun radiates a large amount of energy to the earth, yet most of which is wasted. Efficient utilization of solar energy can be achieved by integrating a solar absorber, phase change material, and Fresnel lens with thermoelectric generators. In this work, multiwalled carbon nanotubes are mixed with polydimethylsiloxane as a solar absorber and achieve up to 99% absorption of sunlight. Meanwhile, the solar absorber as a radiative cooler also exhibits high emissivity in the atmospheric window, and a cooling effect of 7.3 K from the ambient temperature can be realized at night. Paraffin wax as a phase change material realizes heat storage during the day and release at night. The Fresnel lens realizes a high degree of convergence of sunlight over a large area, obtaining a higher output performance at a lower cost. The multienergy integrated and synergistic thermoelectric generation system achieves an output power density of 4.1 mW/cm during the day and a peak power density of 0.2 mW/cm during the night, which can meet the demand for ab uninterrupted power supply to electronic devices. This work realizes the efficient utilization of solar energy and provides an option for thermoelectric application.
由于能够利用低品位废热且可靠性高，热电发电机在可持续能源领域有着广阔的应用前景。太阳向地球辐射大量能量，但其中大部分被浪费了。通过将太阳能吸收器、相变材料和菲涅耳透镜与热电发电机集成，可以实现太阳能的高效利用。在这项工作中，多壁碳纳米管与聚二甲基硅氧烷混合作为太阳能吸收器，可实现高达99%的太阳光吸收率。同时，作为辐射冷却器的太阳能吸收器在大气窗口也表现出高发射率，夜间可实现比环境温度低7.3K的冷却效果。石蜡作为相变材料，在白天实现蓄热，夜间释放热量。菲涅耳透镜实现了大面积太阳光的高度汇聚，以较低成本获得了更高的输出性能。这种多能源集成与协同的热电发电系统在白天实现了4.1mW/cm的输出功率密度，夜间实现了0.2mW/cm的峰值功率密度，能够满足电子设备不间断供电的需求。这项工作实现了太阳能的高效利用，并为热电应用提供了一种选择。
