Thermocouple-based passive rectification for energy harvesting from thermal fluctuations

Thermocouple-based passive rectification for energy harvesting from thermal fluctuations | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Thermocouple-based passive rectification for energy harvesting from thermal fluctuations Jiantang Jiang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5255181/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract In this work, we show that free-standing graphene membranes can be regarded as a spontaneously formed nonequilibrium ordered structure and may serve as a source of weak, high-frequency electrical signals through capacitive coupling. We propose a passive rectification mechanism based on the asymmetric thermal response of the two junctions of a thermocouple, which enables the conversion of weak alternating currents into a direct-current electromotive force without any threshold voltage. On the basis of this mechanism, a thermocouple-assisted model is developed to harvest vibration-induced electrical energy from suspended graphene films. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility that thermocouple rectifiers operating at the nanoscale may exhibit spontaneous rectification driven solely by thermal noise, suggesting a new perspective on thermoelectric energy conversion. Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics passive rectification graphene film vibration energy thermocouple thermoelectric conversion Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5255181","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":366050706,"identity":"c81cd1b8-f7e7-4e88-b8ca-0cc08b017799","order_by":0,"name":"Jiantang Jiang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAo0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADOTb25gPEKeWBUAbGfDzHEkjTkjhPIkeBOC32EtlpDz7u+ZPexpDDwPCjYhsRtkjkbjec8cwgt43h7AHGnjO3idKyTZrnAFALY18CM2MbCVrS2Zh5DEjTksDGRrSWM2+BfjlgbNjGw5ZwkCi/sLfnbnvw4YCcvPz8xwcf/KggQgsQsMFZB4hSj6JlFIyCUTAKRgFWAADF0Daz1G8Q8AAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Zhongshan Shiruan Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiantang","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-13 11:55:30","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5255181/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5255181/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102357637,"identity":"09167f9a-09bb-4f88-91e7-7ac1c412821f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-10 21:24:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":641865,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptV2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5255181/v2_covered_fe34c630-ccb1-4260-a661-6d7255121ebe.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eThermocouple-based passive rectification for energy harvesting from thermal fluctuations\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"passive rectification, graphene film, vibration energy, thermocouple, thermoelectric conversion","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5255181/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5255181/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn this work, we show that free-standing graphene membranes can be regarded as a spontaneously formed nonequilibrium ordered structure and may serve as a source of weak, high-frequency electrical signals through capacitive coupling. 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