Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are environmentally friendly energy harvesting technologies that hold great promise in the field of self-powered electronics and sensing. However, the current development of thermoelectric (TE) devices has largely lagged behind the development of thermoelectric materials, especially in the preparation of thermoelectric components with customizable shapes and excellent properties, which largely limits their practical applications. These issues can be effectively addressed by using 3D printing technology. Here, we print multiple p-type thermoelectric legs (pins) consecutively with this simple technique, and the printed TEGs have excellent thermal potential (288 μV K^–1 at room temperature) and excellent temperature response properties, which exhibited an output voltage of 127.94 mV at a temperature difference (ΔT) of 40 K. The 3D-printed thermoelectric generator enables the collection of thermal energy. In addition, the device has excellent temperature sensing characteristics, and this temperature signal to electrical signal conversion is very rapid, which enables temperature sensing alarms in a wide temperature domain. Combining these features, an energy harvesting and electrical alarm concept for home-scale applications is proposed, which is expected to provide a diverse research idea for the application of next-generation thermoelectric devices.

中文翻译：

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用于能量收集和温度响应的 3D 打印 Bi2Te3 热电发电机


热电发电机（TEG）是一种环保的能量收集技术，在自供电电子和传感领域具有广阔的前景。然而，目前热电（TE）器件的发展很大程度上落后于热电材料的发展，特别是在可定制形状和优异性能的热电元件的制备方面，这在很大程度上限制了其实际应用。利用3D打印技术可以有效解决这些问题。在这里，我们通过这种简单的技术连续打印多个p型热电腿（引脚），并且打印的TEG具有优异的热电势（室温下288 μV K ^–1 ）和优异的温度响应特性，表现出温差 (ΔT) 为 40 K 时输出电压为 127.94 mV。3D 打印的热电发电机能够收集热能。此外，该器件具有优异的温度传感特性，并且这种温度信号到电信号的转换非常迅速，从而能够在较宽的温度域内实现温度传感报警。结合这些特点，提出了一种适合家庭规模应用的能量收集和电气报警概念，有望为下一代热电器件的应用提供多样化的研究思路。