为提升学院育人水平，开拓教师学术视野，培养学生创新思维与学术能力，现面向里番 全体师生开展第32期MSE讲坛活动。

讲堂时间：2026年7月15日（星期三）15:00-16:00

讲堂地点：材料楼220

讲堂主题：High-thermopower polarized electrolytes and ionic thermoelectric hydrogels for low-grade heat harvesting and thermal sensing

嘉宾介绍：

徐东艳教授，现任香港中文大学机械与自动化工程学系教授。徐教授于清华大学获得学士、硕士学位，于范德堡大学获得博士学位。此后，她在加州大学伯克利分校及劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室从事博士后研究两年。她于2010年加入香港中文大学，任助理教授，2016年晋升为副教授，2022年晋升为正教授。她目前的研究方向包括柔性触觉与热传感器、热电材料与器件、热伽伐尼电池、离子热电材料、纳米尺度热输运以及沸腾传热。

内容介绍：

Ubiquitous low-grade heat in the environment represents an abundant energy source, and thermogalvanic cells (TGCs) as well as emerging ionic thermoelectric (iTE) materials offer promising avenues for thermal-to-electrical conversion. We demonstrate polarized electrolytes for TGCs based on I−/I3− redox couple with methylcellulose and KCl, realizing ultrahigh thermopowers of -8.18 mV K−1 (n-type) and 9.62 mV K−1 (p-type). Thermoresponsive methylcellulose enables switchable polarity above its transition temperature via hydrophobic interaction with I3−. The high thermopowers are attributed to enhanced entropy changes and concentration differentials resulting from gelation and KCl complexation. The p-type TGC achieves a normalized maximum power density of 0.36 mW m−2 K−2, significantly outperforming prior I−/I3− TGCs. In parallel, we introduce a PQ-10/NaOH iTE hydrogel, achieving a thermopower of 24.17 mV K−1, for flexible thermal sensing. High p-type thermopower results from Na+ thermodiffusion, while quaternary amine groups impede OH– migration. By patterning the PQ-10/NaOH hydrogel onto flexible printed circuit boards, we demonstrate flexible thermal sensor arrays capable of spatial temperature mapping with remarkable sensitivity. Additionally, we demonstrate a smart glove integrated with multiple thermal sensor arrays, endowing a prosthetic hand with thermal sensation and highlighting the potential for advanced human–machine interfaces. Recently, we achieved reconfigurable iTE performance in polyquaternium PAETC-based hydrogels enabled by multiscale hydration engineering. Our iTE hydrogels achieve an ultrahigh thermopower of 44.8 mV K⁻1 in open systems for energy harvesting, while demonstrating a rapid response time of 0.5 s and outstanding stability over 90 days in sealed environments for thermal perception. Mechanistic analysis reveals that heterogeneous hydration in pristine PAETC hydrogels prompts spontaneous proton release. Enabling rapid signal transduction in sealed configurations supported by steady-state proton thermodiffusion. Strategic incorporation of 15 wt% PSS into PAETC leads to a homogeneous hydration structure and facilitates proton transport across hierarchical scales, synergistically boosting thermopower under open conditions. Collectively, these advances in polarized electrolytes and iTE hydrogels deliver cost-effective, high-performance materials for scalable low-grade heat harvesting and next-generation flexible thermal sensing.

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材料科学与工程学院

2026年7月13日