Low-grade waste heat recovery is a promising pathway to achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. In recent years, thermo-electrochemical cells (also known as thermocells or thermogalvanic cells) driven by low-grade heat have been emerging as a cutting-edge technology due to their ultrahigh Seebeck coefficient, high flexibility and low cost, and they possess large application prospects in wearable electronic devices, self-powered Internet-of-Thing sensors and industrial waste heat recovery. In the past years, a large deal of work has been conducted to improve the power density and conversion efficiency from the aspects of electrode materials, electrolyte materials, etc., and giant advances have been achieved. However, the commercial applications of thermocells are still hindered by their low power density and conversion efficiency. Given these issues, this work aims to give an overview of the fundamentals, materials, operating parameters, research methods, current applications and specify the corresponding underlying challenges, and conclude the prospects to provide valuable guidelines for further design and optimization of thermocells.

中文翻译：

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热电化学电池实现高效灵活的电源：从材料到应用


低品位余热回收是实现碳中和目标的一条有前途的途径。近年来，低品位热驱动的热电化学电池（又称热电池或热原电池）因其超高的塞贝克系数、高灵活性和低成本而成为一项前沿技术，在可穿戴电子设备、自供电物联网传感器和工业余热回收方面具有很大的应用前景。在过去的几年里，从电极材料、电解质材料等方面进行了大量工作来提高功率密度和转换效率，并取得了巨大的进步。然而，热电池的商业应用仍然受到其低功率密度和转换效率的阻碍。鉴于这些问题，这项工作旨在概述基本原理、材料、操作参数、研究方法、当前应用并指定相应的潜在挑战，并总结前景，为热电池的进一步设计和优化提供有价值的指导。