Junsik Kang1, Kyunggu Kim2, and Hochun Lee2*
1강준식1·김경구2·이호춘2*
1School of Undergraduate Studies, DGIST, Daegu 42988, South Korea
2Department of Energy Science and Engineering, DGIST, Daegu 42988, South Korea1대구경북과학기술원 기초학부,
2대구경북과학기술원 에너지공학전공
Most of low-grad heat (< 200oC) generated from industrial process and human body,
is abandoned as waste heat. To harvest the waste heat, the thermoelectrics (TE) technology has
been widely investigated so far. However, TE suffers from poor performance and high material
cost. As an alternative to the TE device, the thermoelectrical cell (TEC) is gaining growing attention
these days. The TEC features several advantages such as high Seebeck coefficient, low cost
and design flexibility compared to TE, but its commercial viability was limited by its low heatto-
electricity conversion efficiency. However, recent reports have demonstrated that the performance
of TEC can be markedly improved by employing novel electrode/electrolyte materials and
by optimizing cell design. This article summarizes the recent progress of TECs in terms of the
redox couples, electrolyte solvents and additives, electrode materials and cell design.
Keyword : Thermoelectrochemical Cell, Thermogalvanic Cell, Thermal Energy Harvesting, Waste
Heat, Redox Couple, Seebeck