A sustainable and recyclable thermoelectric paper
Thermoelectric materials, capable of transforming heat into electricity, are very promising for converting residual heat into electrical energy, as they convert hardly usable or nearly lost thermal energy in an efficient way. Researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) have created a new concept of thermoelectric material, published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. It is a device composed of cellulose, produced in situ in the laboratory by bacteria, with small amounts of a conductive nanomaterial, carbon nanotubes, using a sustainable and environmentally friendly strategy.