A simple process of commercial paper functionalisation via in situ polymerisation of conductive polymers onto cellulose fibres was investigated and applied as electrodes in paper-based batteries. The functionalisation involved polypyrrole (PPy) and Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as conductive polymers with the process of functionalisation optimised for each polymer individually with respect to oxidant-to-monomer ratios and polymerisation times and temperature. Paper with conductivity values of 44 mS/cm was obtained by exposing the samples to pyrrole vapour for a period of 30 min at room temperature; however, polymerisation at temperatures of 40 °C lead to higher conductivity values to up 141 mS/cm. Consequently, functionalised PPy and PEDOT papers were applied as cathodes in batteries with Al foil anodes and commercial paper soaked in an electrolyte solution of NaCl.

A novel cellulose-based bio-battery made of electrospun fibers activated by biological fluids has been developed. This work reports a new concept for a fully organic bio-battery that takes advantage of the high surface to volume ratio achieved by an electrospun matrix composed of sub-micrometric fibers that acts simultaneously as the separator and the support of the electrodes. Polymer composites of polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI) with cellulose acetate (CA) electrospun matrix were produced by in situ chemical oxidation of pyrrole and aniline on the CA fibers. The structure (CA/PPy|CA|CA/PANI) generated a power density of 1.7 mW g−1 in the presence of simulated biological fluids, which is a new and significant contribution to the domain of medical batteries and fully organic devices for biomedical applications.

Microporous materials highly activated and with potential to be used as adsorbents in many applications for gas
separation/purification are usually available as powders. These solids usually have a great and reversible gas
uptake, high gas selectivity, good chemical and thermal stability, but are unsuitable to be used in gas adsorption
processes, such as Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) or Simulated Moving Bed (SMB).
Zeolites, carbons and more recently metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are examples of those materials. Their
use in adsorption-based processes are dependent of their upgrading from powders (micrometer scale) to
particles (pellets, spheres or granules at millimeter scale). This would overcome large pressure drops and
consequent energy consumptions when packing adsorbent columns in those processes. Thus, shaping
adsorbents is an important step to use them in industry, although it greatly affects their capacity and selectivity
towards a specific gas separation.
In this work, we explore techniques to shape powdered adsorbents, followed by their textural and mechanical
characterizations, and the study of their adsorption properties towards the main components of post-combustion
flues gases (CO2 and N2). Materials densification is proposed by employing two approaches:
- Conventional shaping through binderless mechanical compression and binder-containing extrusion; and
- Formulation by 3D printing (or additive manufacturing) to produce packed bed morphologies that
precisely replicate computer aided design (CAD) models.
Porous separation media are important for fluid-solid contacting in many unit operations, including adsorption.
Due to practical limitations, media particles are typically packed randomly into a column in a shaped form,
allowing fluid to flow through the interstitial voids. Key to the effectiveness of packed columns are the flowrelated properties of mass transfer, fluid distribution and dispersion, and back pressure, which in turn depend
upon packing geometry. Until now, no alternative was found to overcome this limitation and have optimal
ordered packing arrangements at the micron scale. 3D-Printing (or additive manufacturing) brings a wide range
of benefits that traditional methods of manufacturing or prototyping simply cannot. With this approach, complex
ordered geometries, that are not possible by conventional extrusion, can be designed and printed for a porous
media, being the equipment resolution the only limiting step to overcome.
The effect of parameters like compression force, particle sieving, binder nature, binder/adsorbent ratio were
firstly studied using conventional shaping techniques, as a basis for the consequent development of 3D-printed
formulations. The structured samples are then characterized and adsorption equilibria studies are performed on
them to evaluate their performance as media for gas adsorption separation processes. A volumetric/manometric
adsorption unit built in-house was used for this purpose. Relevant experimental data is obtained, which allows to
conclude that 3D-printed media can be an alternative porous media for application in gas adsorption processes.

The influence of post-deposition thermal annealing on the thermoelectric properties of n-and p-type nanocrystalline hydrogenated silicon thin films, deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition, was studied in this work. The Power Factor of p-type films was improved from 7× 10− 5 to 4× 10− 4 W/(mK 2) as the annealing temperature, under vacuum, increased up to 400° C while for n-type films it has a minor influence. Optimized Seebeck coefficient values of 460 μV/K and− 320 μV/K were achieved for p-and n-type films, respectively, with crystalline size in the range of 10 nm, leading to remarkable low thermal conductivity values (< 10 Wm− 1. K− 1) at room temperature.

The electronic and optical properties of p-type copper oxides (CO) strongly depend on the production technique as it influences the obtained phases: cuprous oxide (Cu2O) or cupric oxide (CuO), the most common ones. Cu films deposited by thermal evaporation have been annealed in air atmosphere, with temperature between 225 and 375 °C and time between 1 and 4 h. The resultant CO films have been studied to understand the influence of processing parameters in the thermoelectric, electrical, optical, morphological, and structural properties. Films with a Cu2O single phase are formed when annealing at 225 °C, while CuO single phase films can be obtained at 375 °C. In between, both phases are obtained in proportions that depend on the film thickness and annealing time. The positive sign of the Seebeck coefficient (S), measured at room temperature (RT), confirms the p-type behavior of both oxides, showing values up to 1.2 mV·°C–1and conductivity up to 2.9 (Ω·m)−1. A simple detector using Cu2O have been fabricated and tested with fast finger touch events

The main objective of TransFlexTeg is to develop an innovative large area distributed sensor network integrating transparent thin film thermoelectric devices and sensors for multifunctional smart windows and flexible high impact volume applications. Different breakthrough concepts will be developed: 1) large area high performance transparent thermoelectric thin films deposited on flexible substrates for thermal energy harvesting; 2) low cost high throughput thin film thermal sensors for thermal mapping and gesture sensing; 3) flexible smart windows and walls with energy harvesting, environmental sensing and wireless communication functionalities. This technology aims to demonstrate the functionalities of a smart window able to measure air quality and environmental parameters such as temperature, sun radiation and humidity. The data is automatically collected and can be utilized for controlling heating, cooling and ventilation systems of indoors. Active radio interface enables long range communication and long term data collection with WiFi or a similar base station. The proposed concept of smart windows replaces several conventional sensors with a distributed sensor network that is integrated invisibly into windows. In addition to the power generated from the thermal energy harvesting, the thermoelectric elements (TE) are also used as temperature sensors that, while being distributed over large area, enable thermal mapping of the area instead of just one or a few values measured from particular points. This smart window can be produced on glass. The active layer itself can be flexible glass layer or polymer sheet, which will significantly broaden the field of applications and improve business opportunities. Both can be manufactured in batch, or in Roll to Roll Atomic Layer Deposition (R2R ALD) process. High environmental impact is expected with savings of more than 25% of the electrical usage of residential homes and office buildings.