Thermogalvanic hydrogels for self-powered temperature monitoring in extreme environments

Xuebiao Li; Xiao Xiao; Chenhui Bai; Mylan Mayer; Xiaojing Cui; Ke Lin; Yinhui Li; Hulin Zhang; Jun Chen

doi:10.1039/D2TC00889K

Thermogalvanic hydrogels for self-powered temperature monitoring in extreme environments†

Xuebiao Li,‡^a Xiao Xiao,

‡^b Chenhui Bai,^a Mylan Mayer,^b Xiaojing Cui,^a Ke Lin,^b Yinhui Li,^a Hulin Zhang

*^a and Jun Chen

*^b

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a College of Information and Computer, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, China
E-mail: zhanghulin@tyut.edu.cn

^b Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
E-mail: jun.chen@ucla.edu

Abstract

Thermogalvanic hydrogels have been highlighted in the design of flexible thermoelectric cells and sensors on account of their excellent physicochemical properties such as high thermal sensitivity, stretchability, and portability. However, the incident freezing and drying behaviors of hydrogels by using water solvent as the dispersion medium limit their scope of application greatly. Herein, a gel electrolyte-based thermogalvanic device with I⁻/I₃⁻ as a redox pair is fabricated, which shows a preferred temperature tolerance (−20 to 80 °C) and superior anti-drying capacity at reduced vapor pressure. These features stem from weakening the hydrogen bonds between water molecules by using a simple binary solvent strategy. Considering its decent thermogalvanic response, a gel-based temperature monitoring system was developed, which can be used as a comfortable electronic skin for human body monitoring. It could also be applied to build up a smart window system for self-powered monitoring of indoor or outdoor temperatures, even in extreme weather and climate events.

This article is part of the themed collections: Journal of Materials Chemistry C HOT Papers, 2022 Journal of Materials Chemistry C Most Popular Articles and Journal of Materials Chemistry C Emerging Investigators

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2TC00889K
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 04 Mar 2022
Accepted: 06 Apr 2022
First published: 07 Apr 2022

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J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022,10, 13789-13796

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Thermogalvanic hydrogels for self-powered temperature monitoring in extreme environments

X. Li, X. Xiao, C. Bai, M. Mayer, X. Cui, K. Lin, Y. Li, H. Zhang and J. Chen, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022, 10, 13789 DOI: 10.1039/D2TC00889K

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Journal of Materials Chemistry C

Thermogalvanic hydrogels for self-powered temperature monitoring in extreme environments†

Abstract

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Thermogalvanic hydrogels for self-powered temperature monitoring in extreme environments

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