The significance of supporting electrolyte on poly (vinyl alcohol)–iron(II)/iron(III) solid-state electrolytes for wearable thermo-electrochemical cells

Electrochemistry Communications

Mark A. Buckingham¹  Shuai Zhang²  Stephen Beirne²  Yuetong Zhou³  Jun Chen³  Gordon Wallace³  Yuqing Liu³  Leigh Aldous³ 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Film and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China;Department of Chemistry, Britannia House, King’s College London, London SE1 1DB, UK;Intelligent Polymer Research Institute and ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Australian Institute for Innovative Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia;

关键词: Thermo-electrochemistry;    Solid-state electrolyte;    Low-grade thermal energy;    Supporting electrolyte;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Thermo-electrochemical cells (known as thermocells) can convert heat energy into electrical power through redox reactions driven by the presence of a temperature gradient. Low-grade heat from the human body can be harvested using thermocells containing a suitable electrolyte, such as the iron(II)/iron(III) chloride redox couple housed in poly (vinyl alcohol) described here. However, conventionally the thermo-electrochemical performance of gelled electrolytes is poor, due to slow ionic transport and high charge transfer resistance. In this report, hydrochloric acid has been found to synergistically decrease the charge transfer resistance of the redox reaction, whilst doubling the tensile properties of the gel housing. Moreover, individual thermocells can be connected in parallel to enhance current output.

【 授权许可】

Unknown