Abstract
In this paper, we report an organic semiconductor based flexible thermogalvanic cell for conversion of heat and light energy into electric power. This thermogalvanic cell has been fabricated using a eco-friendly, affordable and commercially available organic material known as an orange dye (C17H17N5O2), which is soluble in water. The thermogalvanic cell consists of a Carbon/aqueous solution of orange dye/Carbon structure. The cell contains a flexible polymer tube casing, filled with a 5 wt% organic semiconductor orange dye aqueous solution and carbon-electrodes. Gradient of temperature (Delta T) up to 28 K was created by low power electric heater and up to 6 K by illumination. It was found that at Delta T = 8 K, the open-circuit voltage (V-oc), short-circuit current (I-sc) and Seebeck coefficient were in the range of -(31-32) mV, -(2.6-2.7) mu A and -(3.8-3.9) mV/K, respectively. The thermogalvanic cell holds the promise of potential use in low-power applications (e.g. medical) and temperature gradient measurement.