Thermoelectric generators are an environmentally friendly and reliable solid‐state energy conversion technology. Flexible and low‐cost thermoelectric generators are especially suited to power flexible electronics and sensors using body heat or other ambient heat sources. Bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) based thermoelectric materials exhibit their best performance near room temperature making them an ideal candidate to power wearable electronics and sensors using body heat. In this report, Bi₂Te₃ thin films are deposited on a flexible polyimide substrate using low‐cost and scalable manufacturing methods. The synthesized Bi₂Te₃ nanocrystals have a thickness of 35 ± 15 nm and a lateral dimension of 692 ± 186 nm. Thin films fabricated from these nanocrystals exhibit a peak power factor of 0.35 mW m⁻¹·K⁻² at 433 K, which is among the highest reported values for flexible thermoelectric films. In order to evaluate the flexibility of the thin films, static and dynamic bending tests are performed while monitoring the change in electrical resistivity. After 1000 bending cycles over a 50 mm radius of curvature, the change in electrical resistance of the film is 23%. Using Bi₂Te₃ solutions, the ability to print thermoelectric thin films with an aerosol jet printer is demonstrated, highlighting the potential of additive manufacturing techniques for fabricating flexible thermoelectric generators.

中文翻译：

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由溶液处理的胶体纳米板制成的高性能柔性碲化铋薄膜

热电发电机是一种环保可靠的固态能量转换技术。灵活且低成本的热电发电机特别适合使用体热或其他环境热源为柔性电子设备和传感器供电。碲化铋 (Bi ₂ Te ₃ ) 基热电材料在室温附近表现出最佳性能，使其成为利用体热为可穿戴电子设备和传感器供电的理想选择。在本报告中，Bi ₂ Te ₃薄膜采用低成本且可扩展的制造方法沉积在柔性聚酰亚胺基板上。合成的Bi ₂ Te ₃纳米晶体的厚度为35±15nm，横向尺寸为692±186nm。由这些纳米晶体制成的薄膜在433 K时表现出0.35 mW m ^-1 ·K ^-2的峰值功率因数，这是柔性热电薄膜报道的最高值之​​一。为了评估薄膜的柔韧性，进行静态和动态弯曲测试，同时监测电阻率的变化。在 50 毫米曲率半径上进行 1000 次弯曲循环后，薄膜的电阻变化为 23%。使用Bi ₂ Te ₃解决方案，展示了使用气溶胶喷射打印机打印热电薄膜的能力，凸显了增材制造技术在制造柔性热电发电机方面的潜力。