High-entropy-stabilized chalcogenides with high thermoelectric performance

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 371 (6531) ◽  
pp. 830-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binbin Jiang ◽  
Yong Yu ◽  
Juan Cui ◽  
Xixi Liu ◽  
Lin Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Performance Optimization ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Configurational Entropy ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Structural Stabilization ◽  
High Entropy ◽  
Thermoelectric Conversion

Thermoelectric technology generates electricity from waste heat, but one bottleneck for wider use is the performance of thermoelectric materials. Manipulating the configurational entropy of a material by introducing different atomic species can tune phase composition and extend the performance optimization space. We enhanced the figure of merit (zT) value to 1.8 at 900 kelvin in an n-type PbSe-based high-entropy material formed by entropy-driven structural stabilization. The largely distorted lattices in this high-entropy system caused unusual shear strains, which provided strong phonon scattering to largely lower lattice thermal conductivity. The thermoelectric conversion efficiency was 12.3% at temperature difference ΔT = 507 kelvin, for the fabricated segmented module based on this n-type high-entropy material. Our demonstration provides a paradigm to improve thermoelectric performance for high-entropy thermoelectric materials through entropy engineering.

scholarly journals Effects of Y, GdCu, and Al Addition on the Thermoelectric Behavior of CoCrFeNi High Entropy Alloys

Metals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanqing Dong ◽  
Zheng Zhou ◽  
Lijun Zhang ◽  
Mengdi Zhang ◽  
Peter Liaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Properties ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
High Entropy Alloys ◽  
High Entropy ◽  
Alternative Energy Sources ◽  
The Future

Thermoelectric (TE) materials can interconvert waste heat into electricity, which will become alternative energy sources in the future. The high-entropy alloys (HEAs) as a new class of materials are well-known for some excellent properties, such as high friction toughness, excellent fatigue resistance, and corrosion resistance. Here, we present a series of HEAs to be potential candidates for the thermoelectric materials. The thermoelectric properties of YxCoCrFeNi, GdxCoCrFeNiCu, and annealed Al0.3CoCrFeNi were investigated. The effects of grain size and formation of the second phase on thermoelectric properties were revealed. In HEAs, we can reduce the thermal conductivity by controlling the phonon scattering due to the considerable complexity of the alloys. The Y, Gd-doped HEAs are competitive candidate thermoelectric materials for energy conversion in the future.

scholarly journals Crystal Lattice Controlled SiGe Thermoelectric Materials with High Figure of Merit

2011 ◽  
Vol 1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Jung Kim ◽  
Yeonjoon Park ◽  
Glen C. King ◽  
Kunik Lee ◽  
Sang H. Choi
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Lattice Structure ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Process Conditions ◽  
Working Pressure

ABSTRACTDirect energy conversion between thermal and electrical energy, based on thermoelectric (TE) effect, has the potential to recover waste heat and convert it to provide clean electric power. The energy conversion efficiency is related to the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT expressed as ZT=S2σT/κ, T is temperature, S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is conductance and κ is thermal conductivity. For a lower thermal conductivity κ and high power factor (S2σ), our current strategy is the development of rhombohedrally strained single crystalline SiGe materials that are highly [111]-oriented twinned. The development of a SiGe “twin lattice structure (TLS)” plays a key role in phonon scattering. The TLS increases the electrical conductivity and decreases thermal conductivity due to phonon scattering at stacking faults generated from the 60° rotated primary twin structure. To develop high performance materials, the substrate temperature, chamber working pressure, and DC sputtering power are controlled for the aligned growth production of SiGe layer and TLS on a c-plane sapphire. Additionally, a new elevated temperature thermoelectric characterization system, that measures the thermal diffusivity and Seebeck effect nondestructively, was developed. The material properties were characterized at various temperatures and optimized process conditions were experimentally determined. The present paper encompasses the technical discussions toward the development of thermoelectric materials and the measurement techniques.

scholarly journals Exceptional thermoelectric performance in Mg3Sb0.6Bi1.4 for low-grade waste heat recovery

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 965-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuki Imasato ◽  
Stephen Dongmin Kang ◽  
G. Jeffrey Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Conversion Efficiency ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Type Material ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Thermoelectric Conversion

An n-type material with intrinsically higher thermoelectric conversion efficiency than Bi2Te3 in the low-grade waste-heat range has finally been developed.

High thermoelectric performance in low-cost SnS0.91Se0.09 crystals

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6460) ◽  
pp. 1418-1424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenke He ◽  
Dongyang Wang ◽  
Haijun Wu ◽  
Yu Xiao ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Carrier Mobility ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Tin Sulfide ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Earth Abundant

Thermoelectric technology allows conversion between heat and electricity. Many good thermoelectric materials contain rare or toxic elements, so developing low-cost and high-performance thermoelectric materials is warranted. Here, we report the temperature-dependent interplay of three separate electronic bands in hole-doped tin sulfide (SnS) crystals. This behavior leads to synergistic optimization between effective mass (m*) and carrier mobility (μ) and can be boosted through introducing selenium (Se). This enhanced the power factor from ~30 to ~53 microwatts per centimeter per square kelvin (μW cm−1 K−2 at 300 K), while lowering the thermal conductivity after Se alloying. As a result, we obtained a maximum figure of merit ZT (ZTmax) of ~1.6 at 873 K and an average ZT (ZTave) of ~1.25 at 300 to 873 K in SnS0.91Se0.09 crystals. Our strategy for band manipulation offers a different route for optimizing thermoelectric performance. The high-performance SnS crystals represent an important step toward low-cost, Earth-abundant, and environmentally friendly thermoelectrics.

scholarly journals Enhancing the Figure of Merit of Heavy‐Band Thermoelectric Materials Through Hierarchical Phonon Scattering

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 1600035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenguang Fu ◽  
Haijun Wu ◽  
Yintu Liu ◽  
Jiaqing He ◽  
Xinbing Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Phonon Scattering

scholarly journals Optimization of Thermoelectric Properties Based on Rashba Spin Splitting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenzhen Qin
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Performance Optimization ◽  
Optimization Methods ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Spin Splitting ◽  
Rashba Effect ◽  
Rashba Spin ◽  
Rashba Spin Splitting ◽  
New Strategy

In recent years, the application of thermoelectricity has become more and more widespread. Thermoelectric materials provide a simple and environmentally friendly solution for the direct conversion of heat to electricity. The development of higher performance thermoelectric materials and their performance optimization have become more important. Generally, to improve the ZT value, electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity must be globally optimized as a whole object. However, due to the strong coupling among ZT parameters in many cases, it is very challenging to break the bottleneck of ZT optimization currently. Beyond the traditional optimization methods (such as inducing defects, varying temperature), the Rashba effect is expected to effectively increase the S2σ and decrease the κ, thus enhancing thermoelectric performance, which provides a new strategy to develop new-generation thermoelectric materials. Although the Rashba effect has great potential in enhancing thermoelectric performance, the underlying mechanism of Rashba-type thermoelectric materials needs further research. In addition, how to introduce Rashba spin splitting into current thermoelectric materials is also of great significance to the optimization of thermoelectricity.

The Study of Solvothermal Synthesis of Nano-Engineered CoSb3 Skutterudite Thermoelectric Materials

2007 ◽  
Vol 1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohua Ji ◽  
Jian He ◽  
Paola N. Alboni ◽  
Terry M. Tritt ◽  
Joseph W. Kolis
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Chemical Mechanism ◽  
Synthesis Time ◽  
Solvothermal Syntheses ◽  
Cobalt Antimonide ◽  
Acid Wash ◽  
20 Nm ◽  
Morphology Characterization

AbstractNanostructured materials have been shown to enhance phonon scattering and improve the figure of merit of thermoelectric materials. Solvothermal syntheses of nano-engineered CoSb3 skutterudite have been studied in the present work in which CoCl2 and SbCl3 were used as precursors and NaBH4 as a reductant. Elemental, structural and morphology characterization techniques including: XRD, SEM, TEM and EDAX were used to identify and characterize the products. NaBH4 was found to be a necessary factor in forming cobalt antimonide. It was detected the products' phase transited from Sb2Co to CoSb3 in conjunction with the amount increase of NaBH4. The change of synthesis time and temperature contributed little on the products' phases under the present experimental routes. Single-phased CoSb3 skutterudites was obtained from the solvothermal syntheses combined with an acid wash. The as-prepared CoSb3 powders consist of irregular nanoparticles with 15∼20 nm in size. A possible chemical mechanism was also discussed.

The Thermoelectric Process

1997 ◽  
Vol 478 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Vining
Keyword(s):  
Thermodynamic Properties ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Thermoelectric Figure Of Merit ◽  
Thermoelectric Figure ◽  
Thermoelectric Conversion ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Alternative Approaches

AbstractThe efficiency of thermoelectric technology today is limited by the properties of available thermoelectric materials and a wide variety of new approaches to developing better materials have recently been suggested. The key goal is to find a material with a large ZT, the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit. However, if an analogy is drawn between thermoelectric technology and gas-cycle engines then selecting different materials for the thermoelements is analogous to selecting a different working gas for the mechanical engine. And an attempt to improve ZT is analogous to an attempt to improve certain thermodynamic properties of the working-gas. An alternative approach is to focus on the thermoelectric process itself (rather than on ZT), which is analogous to considering alternate cycles such as Stirling vs. Brayton vs. Rankine etc., rather than ‘merely’ considering alternative ‘gases’. Focusing on the process is a radically different approach compared to previous studies focusing on ZT. Aspects of the thermoelectric process and alternative approaches to efficient thermoelectric conversion are discussed.

Refined Band Structure plus Enhanced Phonon Scattering Realize Thermoelectric Performance Optimization in CuI-Mn Codoped SnTe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Wu ◽  
Zhe Guo ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
Xuemei Wang ◽  
Lidong Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Power Generation ◽  
Band Structure ◽  
Performance Optimization ◽  
Phonon Scattering ◽  
Thermoelectric Performance ◽  
Similar Band

With the same crystal structure and similar band structure, SnTe is regarded as an eco-friendly alternative of PbTe for the mid-temperature power generation application, but its thermoelectric performance suffers from...

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document