2.4 Photo -thermo-electric Properties and Application of the
PTEH-Interlocking Cells
The solar-driven photothermoelectric devices schematic of PTEH.
(Figure S8 ). The voltage of the PTEH-Interlocking cells under
simulated sunlight illumination with increasing intensity of 100, 150
and 200 mW cm−2, reached peak values of 6.92, 9.13 and
13.26 mV, respectively
(Figure 5a ). That
corresponding maximum power output is 1.47, 4.67 and 6.67 mW
m-2, respectively (Figure 5b ). Significantly,
the voltage of the PTEH-Interlocking cells is higher than that of
TEH-CNT (5.16 mV vs. 4.10 mV) (Figure 5c ). Continuous
voltage output supply is maintained for more than 4.5 h under
irradiation under a simulated sunlight (100 mW cm−2),
still maintains a stable voltage output (Figure 5d ). However,
when carbon nanotubes are used as the photothermal layer, the output
voltage starts to decline after simulating sunlight for a while,
indicating that the interlocking structure can protect the internal
electrolyte well (Figure S9 ). In addition, throughout 15
simulated sunlight “on-off” cycles, there is no observable decline in
voltage output, maintaining a consistent level of 150 mW
cm−2. (Figure 5e ). High and stable
photo-thermo-electric conversion and good mechanical stability of
PTEH-Interlocking cells indicate their potential application as the
power supply. To showcase the feasibility of our concept, we established
a connection between the solar-powered PTEH-Interlocking device and
motors and LEDs using a voltage amplifier.The solar-driven
PTEH-Interlocking cells successfully trigger the rotation of the motor
and the the lamp linghting (Figure 5f and Video S2, S3 ). The
solar-driven PTEH-Interlocking device can supply power for micro strain
pressure sensor (Figure S10 ). Encouraged by this, a sensor was
designed as an alarm system for a “smart house”, where the
PTEH-Interlocking cells harvests solar energy and produces electricity
for the sensor. Current generates immediately because the sensor is
placed under pressure when the door opens (Figure 5g ), and this
signal can be detected after several “open-close” cycles
(Figure S11 ). These findings highlight the significant
potential of the developed solar-driven PTEH-Interlocking as a viable
power source within the realm of the Internet of Things (IoT).