Softening of thermoelectric generators facilitates conformal contact with arbitrary-shaped heat sources, which offers an opportunity to realize self-powered wearable applications. However, existing wearable thermoelectric devices inevitably exhibit reduced thermoelectric conversion efficiency due to the parasitic heat loss in high-thermal-impedance polymer substrates and poor thermal contact arising from rigid interconnects. Here, we propose compliant thermoelectric generators with intrinsically stretchable interconnects and soft heat conductors that achieve high thermoelectric performance and unprecedented conformability simultaneously. The silver-nanowire-based soft electrodes interconnect bismuth-telluride-based thermoelectric legs, effectively absorbing strain energy, which allows our thermoelectric generators to conform perfectly to curved surfaces. Metal particles magnetically self-assembled in elastomeric substrates form soft heat conductors that significantly enhance the heat transfer to the thermoelectric legs, thereby maximizing energy conversion efficiency on three-dimensional heat sources. Moreover, automated additive manufacturing paves the way for realizing self-powered wearable applications comprising hundreds of thermoelectric legs with high customizability under ambient conditions.

热电发电机的软化促进了与任意形状的热源的保形接触，这为实现自供电可穿戴应用提供了机会。然而，由于高热阻聚合物基板中的寄生热损失以及由刚性互连引起的不良热接触，现有的可穿戴热电装置不可避免地表现出降低的热电转换效率。在这里，我们提出了符合标准的热电发电机，该发电机具有本质上可拉伸的互连和柔软的热导体，可同时实现高热电性能和前所未有的一致性。基于银纳米线的软电极将基于碲化铋的热电腿互连，可有效吸收应变能，这使我们的热电发电机能够完美地适应曲面。在弹性体基底中磁性自组装的金属颗粒形成柔软的导热体，显着增强了向热电腿的传热，从而最大限度地提高了三维热源的能量转换效率。此外，自动化增材制造为实现自供电可穿戴应用铺平了道路，该应用包括数百个在环境条件下具有高度可定制性的热电腿。