Thermoelectric energy conversion offers a unique solution for generating electricity from waste heat. However, despite recent improvements in the efficiency of thermoelectric materials, the widespread application of thermoelectric generators has been hampered by challenges in fabricating thermoelectric materials with appropriate dimensions to perfectly fit heat sources. Herein, we report an extrusion-based three-dimensional printing method to produce thermoelectric materials with geometries suitable for heat sources. All-inorganic viscoelastic inks were synthesized using Sb₂Te₃ chalcogenidometallate ions as inorganic binders for Bi₂Te₃-based particles. Three-dimensional printed materials with various geometries showed homogenous thermoelectric properties, and their dimensionless figure-of-merit values of 0.9 (p-type) and 0.6 (n-type) were comparable to the bulk values. Conformal cylindrical thermoelectric generators made of 3D-printed half rings mounted on an alumina pipe were studied both experimentally and computationally. Simulations show that the power output of the conformal, shape-optimized generator is higher than that of conventional planar generators.

热电能量转换为利用废热发电提供了独特的解决方案。然而，尽管最近热电材料的效率有所提高，但是在制造具有合适尺寸以完全适合热源的热电材料方面的挑战阻碍了热电发生器的广泛应用。本文中，我们报告了一种基于挤压的三维打印方法，以生产具有适合热源几何形状的热电材料。以Sb ₂ Te ₃硫代金属硅酸盐离子作为Bi ₂ Te _3的无机粘合剂合成了全无机粘弹性油墨基颗粒。具有各种几何形状的三维印刷材料显示出均一的热电特性，其无量纲的品质因数值分别为0.9（p型）和0.6（n型）。通过实验和计算研究了由安装在氧化铝管上的3D打印半环制成的保形圆柱形热电发生器。仿真表明，形状优化的保形发电机的功率输出高于常规平面发电机的功率输出。