PEDOT as a Flexible Organic Electrode for a Thin Film Acoustic Energy Harvester

An efficient thin film acoustic energy harvester was explored using flexible poly­(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films as electrodes in an all-organic triboelectric generator (AO-TEG). A thin film AO-TEG structured as PEDOT/Kapton//PET/PEDOT was prepared by the solution casting polymerization­(SCP) on the dielectric polymer films. As-prepared AO-TEG showed high flexibility and durability due to the strong adhesion between the electrodes and the dielectric polymer. The short-circuit current density (<i>J</i>_sc), open-circuit voltage (<i>V</i>_oc), and maximum power density (Pw) reached 50 mA/m², 700 V, and 12.9 W/m² respectively. The output current density decreased with the increase in the electrode resistance (<i>R</i>_e), but the energy loss in the organic electrodes was negligible. The AO-TEG could light up 180 LEDs instantaneously upon touching of the AO-TEG with a palm (∼120 N). With the flexible structure, the AO-TEG was worn as clothes and generated electricity to light LEDs upon regular human movement. Furthermore, the AO-TEG was applicable as a thin film acoustic energy harvester, which used music to generate electricity enough for powering of 5 LEDs. An AO-TEG with a PEDOT electrode (<i>R</i>_e = 200 Ω) showed instantaneous peak-to-peak voltage generation of 11 V under a sound pressure level (SPL) of 90–100 dB. The harvested acoustic energy through the AO-TEG was 350 μJ from the 4 min playing of the same single song. This is the first demonstration of a flexible triboelectric generator (TEG) using an organic electrode for harvesting acoustic energy from ambient environment

PEDOT as a Flexible Organic Electrode for a Thin Film Acoustic Energy Harvester

An efficient thin film acoustic energy harvester was explored using flexible poly­(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films as electrodes in an all-organic triboelectric generator (AO-TEG). A thin film AO-TEG structured as PEDOT/Kapton//PET/PEDOT was prepared by the solution casting polymerization­(SCP) on the dielectric polymer films. As-prepared AO-TEG showed high flexibility and durability due to the strong adhesion between the electrodes and the dielectric polymer. The short-circuit current density (<i>J</i>_sc), open-circuit voltage (<i>V</i>_oc), and maximum power density (Pw) reached 50 mA/m², 700 V, and 12.9 W/m² respectively. The output current density decreased with the increase in the electrode resistance (<i>R</i>_e), but the energy loss in the organic electrodes was negligible. The AO-TEG could light up 180 LEDs instantaneously upon touching of the AO-TEG with a palm (∼120 N). With the flexible structure, the AO-TEG was worn as clothes and generated electricity to light LEDs upon regular human movement. Furthermore, the AO-TEG was applicable as a thin film acoustic energy harvester, which used music to generate electricity enough for powering of 5 LEDs. An AO-TEG with a PEDOT electrode (<i>R</i>_e = 200 Ω) showed instantaneous peak-to-peak voltage generation of 11 V under a sound pressure level (SPL) of 90–100 dB. The harvested acoustic energy through the AO-TEG was 350 μJ from the 4 min playing of the same single song. This is the first demonstration of a flexible triboelectric generator (TEG) using an organic electrode for harvesting acoustic energy from ambient environment

PEDOT as a Flexible Organic Electrode for a Thin Film Acoustic Energy Harvester

An efficient thin film acoustic energy harvester was explored using flexible poly­(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films as electrodes in an all-organic triboelectric generator (AO-TEG). A thin film AO-TEG structured as PEDOT/Kapton//PET/PEDOT was prepared by the solution casting polymerization­(SCP) on the dielectric polymer films. As-prepared AO-TEG showed high flexibility and durability due to the strong adhesion between the electrodes and the dielectric polymer. The short-circuit current density (<i>J</i>_sc), open-circuit voltage (<i>V</i>_oc), and maximum power density (Pw) reached 50 mA/m², 700 V, and 12.9 W/m² respectively. The output current density decreased with the increase in the electrode resistance (<i>R</i>_e), but the energy loss in the organic electrodes was negligible. The AO-TEG could light up 180 LEDs instantaneously upon touching of the AO-TEG with a palm (∼120 N). With the flexible structure, the AO-TEG was worn as clothes and generated electricity to light LEDs upon regular human movement. Furthermore, the AO-TEG was applicable as a thin film acoustic energy harvester, which used music to generate electricity enough for powering of 5 LEDs. An AO-TEG with a PEDOT electrode (<i>R</i>_e = 200 Ω) showed instantaneous peak-to-peak voltage generation of 11 V under a sound pressure level (SPL) of 90–100 dB. The harvested acoustic energy through the AO-TEG was 350 μJ from the 4 min playing of the same single song. This is the first demonstration of a flexible triboelectric generator (TEG) using an organic electrode for harvesting acoustic energy from ambient environment

PEDOT as a Flexible Organic Electrode for a Thin Film Acoustic Energy Harvester

An efficient thin film acoustic energy harvester was explored using flexible poly­(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films as electrodes in an all-organic triboelectric generator (AO-TEG). A thin film AO-TEG structured as PEDOT/Kapton//PET/PEDOT was prepared by the solution casting polymerization­(SCP) on the dielectric polymer films. As-prepared AO-TEG showed high flexibility and durability due to the strong adhesion between the electrodes and the dielectric polymer. The short-circuit current density (<i>J</i>_sc), open-circuit voltage (<i>V</i>_oc), and maximum power density (Pw) reached 50 mA/m², 700 V, and 12.9 W/m² respectively. The output current density decreased with the increase in the electrode resistance (<i>R</i>_e), but the energy loss in the organic electrodes was negligible. The AO-TEG could light up 180 LEDs instantaneously upon touching of the AO-TEG with a palm (∼120 N). With the flexible structure, the AO-TEG was worn as clothes and generated electricity to light LEDs upon regular human movement. Furthermore, the AO-TEG was applicable as a thin film acoustic energy harvester, which used music to generate electricity enough for powering of 5 LEDs. An AO-TEG with a PEDOT electrode (<i>R</i>_e = 200 Ω) showed instantaneous peak-to-peak voltage generation of 11 V under a sound pressure level (SPL) of 90–100 dB. The harvested acoustic energy through the AO-TEG was 350 μJ from the 4 min playing of the same single song. This is the first demonstration of a flexible triboelectric generator (TEG) using an organic electrode for harvesting acoustic energy from ambient environment

Photothermally Activated Pyroelectric Polymer Films for Harvesting of Solar Heat with a Hybrid Energy Cell Structure

Photothermal effects in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)s (PEDOTs) were explored for pyroelectric conversion. A poled ferroelectric film was coated on both sides with PEDOT <i>via</i> solution casting polymerization of EDOT, to give highly conductive and effective photothermal thin films of PEDOT. The PEDOT films not only provided heat source upon light exposure but worked as electrodes for the output energy from the pyroelectric layer in an energy harvester hybridized with a thermoelectric layer. Compared to a bare thermoelectric system under NIR irradiation, the photothermal-pyro-thermoelectric device showed more than 6 times higher thermoelectric output with the additional pyroelectric output. The photothermally driven pyroelectric harvesting film provided a very fast electric output with a high voltage output (<i>V</i>_out) of 15 V. The pyroelectric effect was significant due to the transparent and high photothermal PEDOT film, which could also work as an electrode. A hybrid energy harvester was assembled to enhance photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of a solar cell with a thermoelectric device operated by the photothermally generated heat. The PCE was increased more than 20% under sunlight irradiation (AM 1.5G) utilizing the transmitted light through the photovoltaic cell as a heat source that was converted into pyroelectric and thermoelectric output simultaneously from the high photothermal PEDOT electrodes. Overall, this work provides a dynamic and static hybrid energy cell to harvest solar energy in full spectral range and thermal energy, to allow solar powered switching of an electrochromic display

Color Combination of Conductive Polymers for Black Electrochromism

Conducting polymers that absorb three primary colors, red, green, and blue (RGB), were introduced with a yellow electrochromic polymer (Y) for the preparation of black electrochromic devices. Red poly­(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and blue poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) were coated on one side of the electrode as a cathodically coloring electrochromic (EC) layer, while green poly­(aniline-N-butylsulfonate) (PANBS) and yellow EC poly­{[1,3-bis­(9′,9′-dihexylfluoren-20-yl)­azulenyl]-alt-[2″,7″-(9″,9″-dihexylfluorenyl]} (PDHFA) were coated on the opposite electrode to complete a complementary EC device. The yellow PDHFA layer effectively compensated for absorption below 450 nm and above the 600 nm region, which was lacking in the RGB electrode. The resultant RGBY ECD provided a black color near the CIE black with L*, a*, and b* values of 32, −1.1, and 3.7, respectively, covering a broad absorption in the visible range in the colored state. The state of the black EC device was maintained, even after the electricity was turned off for 200 h, showing stable memory effect