Page 68 - Read Online

Wang. Soft Sci 2024;4:25 Soft Science
DOI: 10.20517/ss.2024.14

Review Article Open Access

Organic flexible thermoelectrics for thermal control

Shu-Jen Wang*

Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong 999077, China.
* Correspondence to: Dr. Shu-Jen Wang, Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, SCT903, 224 Waterloo
Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong 999077, China. E-mail: shu-jenwang@hkbu.edu.hk
How to cite this article: Wang SJ. Organic flexible thermoelectrics for thermal control. Soft Sci 2024;4:25. https://dx.doi.org/10.
20517/ss.2024.14
Received: 28 Mar 2024 First Decision: 24 May 2024 Revised: 26 May 2024 Accepted: 13 Jun 2024 Published: 17 Jun 2024

Academic Editors: Zhigang Chen, Young Min Song, Xinge YU Copy Editor: Dong-Li Li Production Editor: Dong-Li Li

Abstract
Despite the lower efficiency for thermoelectric cooling technology compared to conventional mechanical cooling
technology, it finds application in commercial portable cooling due to its compactness, simple device design, and
low noise. The rapid progress in flexible and wearable electronics opens the need for flexible cooling technology for
local thermal regulation where thermoelectric cooling technology offers niche advantages suitable for flexible
cooling such as light weight and no moving parts. Organic thermoelectrics hold promise for flexible and wearable
cooling applications due to their intrinsic mechanical flexibility, low thermal conductivity, and ease of processing.
However, research on organic Peltier cooling devices remains limited, and more work is required to exploit their
potential for flexible cooling applications. This review discussed the state-of-the-art organic Peltier cooling devices
and the materials and device design considerations required for advancing organic Peltier device technology
toward practical applications.

Keywords: Flexible thermoelectrics, organic semiconductors, Peltier cooling, thermal management, organic
thermoelectrics

INTRODUCTION
Refrigeration plays an essential role in modern society where it is key to storage, science, quality of life and
[1]
beyond. Around 25%-30% of global electricity consumption is spent on it . Mechanical refrigeration based
on vapor-compression cycle has enabled wide spread of commercial refrigerators due to their high
efficiency. However, for some applications, it is undesirable to involve mechanical moving parts, and hence,
novel concepts based on magnetocaloric, electrocaloric and thermoelectric cooling have emerged, targeting

© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

www.oaepublish.com/ss