A flexible Peltier element composed of textile yarns for cooling applications Philippe Westbroek*, 1 , D. Piromalis 1 , D. Tseles 1 , L. Van Langenhove 2 1 Technical Education Institute of Pireaus (TEIPIR), P. Ralli & Thivon 250, Egaleo Athens, Greece 2 Ghent University, Department of Textiles, Technologiepark 907, B-9052 Gent, BELGIUM *Corresponding author; Tel: +32 9 264 54 07; Fax: +32 9 264 58 46; email: philippe.westbroek@Ugent.be Abstract In this paper the deposition of Bismuth Telluride at a gold microwire electrode was studied in nitric acid solutions. The purpose of this investigation is to offer the required fibres and yarns for developing a Peltier element that consists of a textile structure. The deposition of Bi(III) and Te(IV) was reported at the eRA1 conference, while here the deposition of mixtures of these compounds are studied at gold microwire electrodes. It are the mixtures that posses the thermo electric properties, which are important for Peltier elements. Keywords: bismuth, tellurium, deposition, gold electrode, detection 1. Introduction Thermo-electric devices [1-2], based on Bi 2 Te 3 alloys, are able to convert electrical energy in a temperature gradient and the opposite. The first effect is also known as the Peltier effect, the second one as the Seebeck effect. Based on these properties thermo- electric devices are used in a lot of applications such as cooling of microprocessors, laser diodes, elements in cameras [3] and small cooling devices [4-5]. The limitations of thermo-electric devices are its limited efficiency and its rigid structure. Improvement for the first limitation is predicted in literature [1, 6-7] by developing nanostructured materials of Bi 2 Te 3 alloys, based on the successful improvement for a similar system based on PbTe/Pb 1-x Eu x Te [8-11]. The second limitation can be circumvented by developing a textile structure in which the n- and p-type semi-conducting materials are the textile material itself, however before doing so first the semi-conducting textile fibres and yarns should be developed. A relatively simple and economic acceptable method is electrodeposition of bismuth and tellurium on the surface of an electroconductive textile fibre. 2. Experimental Bismuth(III) oxide, Tellurium(IV) oxide and nitric acid were obtained from Sigma- Aldrich and are of analytical grade. Solutions were prepared with de-ionised water (Millipore-Q-system).