High-efficiency electrochemical thermal energy harvester using carbon nanotube aerogel sheet electrodes

作者：Im Hyeongwook; Kim Taewoo; Song Hyelynn; Choi Jongho; Park Jae Sung; Ovalle Robles Raquel; Yang Hee Doo; Kihm Kenneth D; Baughman Ray H; Lee Hong H; Kang Tae June^*; Kim Yong Hyup^*

来源：Nature Communications, 2016, 7(1): 10600.

DOI：10.1038/ncomms10600

Conversion of low-grade waste heat into electricity is an important energy harvesting strategy. However, abundant heat from these low-grade thermal streams cannot be harvested readily because of the absence of efficient, inexpensive devices that can convert the waste heat into electricity. Here we fabricate carbon nanotube aerogel-based thermo-electrochemical cells, which are potentially low-cost and relatively high-efficiency materials for this application. When normalized to the cell cross-sectional area, a maximum power output of 6.6 W m(-2) is obtained for a 51 degrees C inter-electrode temperature difference, with a Carnot-relative efficiency of 3.95%. The importance of electrode purity, engineered porosity and catalytic surfaces in enhancing the thermocell performance is demonstrated.

• 出版日期2016-2