Stretchable Thermoelectric Fibers with Three-Dimensional Interconnected Porous Network for Low-Grade Body Heat Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Electricity generation from body heat has garnered significant interest as a sustainable power source for wearable bioelectronics. In this work, we report stretchable n-type thermoelectric fibers based on the hybrid of Ti₃C₂T_<i>x</i> MXene nanoflakes and polyurethane (MP) through a wet-spinning process. The proposed fibers are designed with a 3D interconnected porous network to achieve satisfactory electrical conductivity (σ), thermal conductivity (κ), and stretchability simultaneously. We systematically optimize the thermoelectric and mechanical traits of the MP fibers and the MP-60 (with 60 wt % MXene content) exhibits a high σ of 1.25 × 10³ S m^-1, an n-type Seebeck coefficient of -8.3 μV K^-1, and a notably low κ of 0.19 W m^-1 K^-1. Additionally, the MP-60 fibers possess great stretchability and mechanical strength with a tensile strain of 434% and a breaking stress of 11.8 MPa. Toward practical application, a textile thermoelectric generator is constructed based on the MP-60 fibers and achieves a voltage of 3.6 mV with a temperature gradient between the body skin and ambient environment, highlighting the enormous potential of low-grade body heat energy harvesting.