A laterally designed all-in-one energy device using a thermoelectric generator-coupled micro supercapacitor

Abstract

Abstract As an all-in-one energy device, we propose a thermoelectric generator-coupled micro supercapacitor (TEG-MSC) consisting of a planar micro supercapacitor linked directly to the thermoelectric pn modules of p-Ag2Te and n-Ag2Se nanoparticle thin films. In the TEG-MSC, a Seebeck voltage of 82\u202fmV is generated at a temperature difference of 15.8\u202fK and is rapidly charged with an efficiency of 98%. Additionally, the proposed device achieves a discharging and charging ratio of 99%. The small size and thinness of the TEG-MSC results in a high volumetric energy density of 697\u202fμJ\u202fcm−3. These excellent performance results stem from the lowering of ionic conductivity via heat treatment. In contrast to other ionic supercapacitors, the Soret effect is eliminated in the TEG-MSC. This shortens the charging time and significantly increases the ratio of discharging and charging.