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).