In the last few decades, most research on thermoelectrics has focused on inorganic bulk thermoelectric materials and corresponding devices, and their thermoelectric properties have been significantly improved. An emerging topic is flexible devices, where the use of bulk inorganic materials is precluded by their inherent rigidity.
Flexible thermoelectric materials and devices, utilizing small temperature difference to generate electricity, exhibit great potentials to provide the continuous power supply for wearable and implantable electronics.
Approaches for flexible TEGs and components. Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) can directly convert waste heat into electrical power. In the last few decades, most research on thermoelectrics has focused on inorganic bulk thermoelectric materials and corresponding devices, and their thermoelectric properties have been significantly improved.
In this work, we review recent research progress on batteries for wearable electronics based on structures and materials, covering the fundamental mechanics underlying the structural design mechanism and intrinsically deformable materials as building blocks for flexible batteries.
This output is promising for the use of flexible thermoelectrics in wearable electronics. Wearable electronics are widely used in communication, medicine, health care, and other areas, but their usage is greatly limited by the low capacity and short lifetime of power supply from chemical batteries (1).
In addition, we review and discuss emerging new materials and structures that could potentially revolutionize the design concepts of flexible batteries for wearable electronics. Therefore, these flexible and wearable materials and structures are not limited to batteries.