Bi–Sb–Te-based
semiconductors possess the best room-temperature
thermoelectric performance, but are restricted for application in
the wearable field because of their inherent brittleness, rigidity,
and nonscalable manufacturing techniques. Therefore, how to obtain
thermoelectric materials with excellent thermoelectric properties
and flexibility through the batch production process is a serious
challenge. Here, we report the fabrication of flexible p-type thermoelectric
Ag-modified Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 films on
flexible substrates using a facile approach. Their optimized power
factors are ∼12.4 and ∼14.0 μW cm–1 K–2 at 300 and 420 K, respectively. These high-power
factors mainly originate from the optimized carrier transport of the
composite system, through which a high level of electrical conductivity
is achieved, whereas a remarkably improved Seebeck coefficient is
simultaneously obtained. Bending tests demonstrate the excellent flexibility
and mechanical durability of the composite films, and their power
factors decrease by only about 10% after bending for 650 cycles with
a bending radius of 5 mm. A flexible thermoelectric module is designed
and constructed using the optimized composite films and displays a
power density of ∼1.4 mW cm–2 at a relatively
small ΔT of 60 K. This work demonstrates the
potential of inorganic thermoelectric materials to be made on flexible/wearable
substrates for energy harvesting and management devices.
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