Overview

• Published in Nature, the study introduces what the authors call the first thermoelectric elastomer designed to harvest the temperature difference between the body and ambient air.
• Lab results show the rubber stretches beyond 850% of its length and recovers about 90% of its shape after 150% strain.
• A hybrid architecture that combines semiconducting polymers with elastic rubber and an engineered nanofibre network preserves electrical pathways under deformation.
• Special dopants enable room‑temperature n‑type thermoelectric performance that the team says rivals conventional inorganic materials.
• Potential applications include self-powered wearables, smart clothing, remote communications gear, and battery-free medical sensors, with real-world output, durability, and manufacturing scale-up still to be demonstrated.