Staggered-layer-boosted flexible Bi2Te3 films with high thermoelectric performance

Room-temperature bismuth telluride (BiTe) thermoelectrics are promising candidates for low-grade heat harvesting. However, the brittleness and inflexibility of BiTe are far reaching and bring about lifelong drawbacks. Here we demonstrate good pliability over 1,000 bending cycles and high power factors of 4.2 (p type) and 4.6 (n type) mW m K in BiTe-based films that were exfoliated from corresponding single crystals. This unprecedented bendability was ascribed to the in situ observed staggered-layer structure that was spontaneously formed during the fabrication to promote stress propagation whilst maintaining good electrical conductivity. Unexpectedly, the donor-like staggered layer rarely affected the carrier transport of the films, thus maintaining its superior thermoelectric performance. Our flexible generator showed a high normalized power density of 321 W m with a temperature difference of 60 K. These high performances in supple thermoelectric films not only offer useful paradigms for wearable electronics, but also provide key insights into structure–property manipulation in inorganic semiconductors.