Flexible and wearable plasmonic-enabled organic/inorganic hybrid photothermoelectric generators

Abstract Solution-processed organic and organic-inorganic hybrid thermoelectric (TE) devices are currently emerging systems for multifunctional energy harvesting and smart textile integration. In this work, a series of solution-processed and flexible organic-inorganic hybrid photothermoelectric generators are fabricated, applying the strong photothermal effect of colloidal plasmonic gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on optimized p/n-type TE modules based on the coupling PEDOT:PSS and with different n-type materials. Under simulated 1-sun illumination, optimized hybrid photothermoelectric generators on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates were achieved by Au-NP-coated PEDOT:PSS/Ag2Se couples, capable of generating a voltage output of 34 mV and a maximum power output of 146 nW, which is drastically larger (by 13 folds) than that achieved on the control devices without NPs. Wearable photothermoelectric generators were further fabricated on polypropylene nonwoven fabrics, exhibiting a voltage output of 24 mV under natural sunlight in the air when worn on the arm. This work highlights the strong potentials of the plasmonic photothermal NPs and their integrations into organic and hybrid TE devices for light harvesting without the need for complex light concentration techniques. The optimized hybrid photothermoelectric generators achieved offer also bright perspectives for the development of energy harvesting smart textiles.