Thermoelectric cyclic-thermal regulation: A new operational mode of thermoelectric materials with high energy efficiency

Abstract

The thermoelectric cyclic-thermal-regulation (TEcR) system was defined as cyclical heat pumping between two vessels in a transient mode, which has emerged as a new application in gas separation and temperature-driven soft robots. Here, we provided systematic theoretical fundamentals relative to the TEcR system and proposed the determining factors and performance scales. We have also designed and fabricated a thermoelectric CO₂-gas-separation system based on low-temperature adsorption and high-temperature desorption, verifying the feasibility of the TEcR system. Our experiments unequivocally demonstrate the significant potential of the TEcR system, with energy consumption savings of 42% and cycle frequency improvements of 2.5 times compared with electrical heater systems. We also proposed an empirical figure of merit to guide the thermoelectric material optimization strategies for the TEcR application. Our work sheds light on the new application of thermoelectric materials, which would generate implications for a wide range of industrial applications that use multi-plate thermal energy.