scholarly journals Structural Modularization of Cu2Te Leading to High Thermoelectric Performance near the Mott-Ioffe-Regel Limit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunpeng Zhao ◽  
Chenxi Zhu ◽  
Min Zhu ◽  
Hongyi Chen ◽  
Jindan Lei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Absolute Temperature ◽  
Band Edge ◽  
Total Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Te Material

Abstract To date, thermoelectric materials research stays focused on optimizing the material’s band edge details and disfavors low mobility. Here, we shifts the paradigm from the band edge to the mobility edge, exploring high thermoelectricity near the border of band conduction and hopping. Through co-alloying iodine and sulfur, we modularize the plain crystal structure of liquid-like thermoelectric material Cu2Te with mosaic nanodomains and the highly size mismatched S/Te sublattice that chemically quenches the Cu sublattice and drives the electronic states from itinerant to localized. A state-of-the-art figure of merit of 1.4 is obtained at 850 K for Cu2(S0.4I0.1Te0.5); and remarkably, it is achieved near the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit unlike mainstream thermoelectric materials that are band conductors. Broadly, pairing structural modularization with the high performance near the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit paves an important new path towards the rational design of high-performance thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric (TE) material-based energy conversion technology has attracted increasing global attention in virtue of the technical merits such as no moving parts, no greenhouse emission, noiseless, friendliness for miniaturization, and reliability.1–4 Based on the Seebeck and Peltier effects, thermoelectricity enables a direct energy conversion between temperature difference and electricity.5, 6 The performance of a TE material is primarily gauged by the material’s figure of merit, zT = S2T/ρκ, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, T is the absolute temperature, ρ is the electrical resistivity, and κ is the total thermal conductivity (consisting of the lattice thermal conductivity κL and the electronic thermal conductivity κE).

Thermoelectric Generators of Sequentially Deposited Si/Si+Ge Nano-layered Superlattices

2009 ◽  
Vol 1181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cydale Smith ◽  
Marcus Pugh ◽  
Hervie Martin ◽  
Rufus Durel Hill ◽  
Brittany James ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Seebeck Coefficient ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Absolute Temperature ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
The Cross

AbstractEffective thermoelectric materials have a low thermal conductivity and a high electrical conductivity. The performance of the thermoelectric materials and devices is shown by a dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = S2sσ/ KTC, σ is the electrical conductivity T/KTC, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, T is the absolute temperature and KTC is the thermal conductivity. In this study we have prepared the thermoelectric generator device of Si/Si+Ge multi-layer superlattice films using the ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). To determine the stoichiometry of the elements of Si and Ge in the grown multilayer films and the thickness of the grown multi-layer films Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and RUMP simulation software package were used. The 5 MeV Si ion bombardments were performed to make quantum clusters in the multi-layer superlattice thin films to decrease the cross plane thermal conductivity, increase the cross plane Seebeck coefficient and cross plane electrical conductivity.Keywords: Ion bombardment, thermoelectric properties, multi-nanolayers, Figure of merit.

scholarly journals Microwave Irradiation to Produce High Performance Thermoelectric Material Based on Al Doped ZnO Nanostructures

Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 610
Author(s):  
Neazar Baghdadi ◽  
Numan Salah ◽  
Ahmed Alshahrie ◽  
Kunihito Koumoto
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Microwave Irradiation ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Zno Nanostructures ◽  
Al Doping ◽  
Doped Zno ◽  
Te Material

Microwave irradiation is found to be effective to provide highly crystalline nanostructured materials. In this work, this technique has been used to produce highly improved thermoelectric (TE) material based on aluminum (Al) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures (NSs). The effect of Al dopant at the concentration range 0.5–3 mol % on the structural and TE properties has been investigated in more details. The optimum concentration of Al for better TE performance is found to be 2 mol %, which could significantly increase the electrical conductivity and reduce the thermal conductivity of ZnO NSs and thus enhance the TE performance. This concentration showed almost metallic conductivity behavior for ZnO NSs at low temperatures, e.g., below 500 K. The electrical conductivity reached 400 S/m at room temperature, which is around 200 times greater than the value recorded for the pure ZnO NSs. Remarkably, the measured room temperature thermal conductivity of the microwave synthesized ZnO NSs was very low, which is around 4 W/m·K. This value was further reduced to 0.5 W/m·K by increasing the Al doping to 3 mol %. The figure of merit recorded 0.028 at 675 K, which is 15 times higher than that of the pure ZnO NSs. The output power of a single leg module made of 2 mol % Al doped ZnO NSs was 3.7 µW at 485 K, which is higher by 8 times than that of the pure sample. These results demonstrated the advantage of the microwave irradiation rout as a superior synthetic technique for producing and doping promising TE nanomaterials like ZnO NSs.

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 Decoupling electron and phonon transport in single-nanowire hybrid materials for high-performance thermoelectrics

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. eabe6000
Author(s):  
Lin Yang ◽  
Madeleine P. Gordon ◽  
Akanksha K. Menon ◽  
Alexandra Bruefach ◽  
Kyle Haas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Thermal Transport ◽  
Electrical Transport ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
Core Shell ◽  
Nanowire Diameter ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Polycrystalline Thin Films

Organic-inorganic hybrids have recently emerged as a class of high-performing thermoelectric materials that are lightweight and mechanically flexible. However, the fundamental electrical and thermal transport in these materials has remained elusive due to the heterogeneity of bulk, polycrystalline, thin films reported thus far. Here, we systematically investigate a model hybrid comprising a single core/shell nanowire of Te-PEDOT:PSS. We show that as the nanowire diameter is reduced, the electrical conductivity increases and the thermal conductivity decreases, while the Seebeck coefficient remains nearly constant—this collectively results in a figure of merit, ZT, of 0.54 at 400 K. The origin of the decoupling of charge and heat transport lies in the fact that electrical transport occurs through the organic shell, while thermal transport is driven by the inorganic core. This study establishes design principles for high-performing thermoelectrics that leverage the unique interactions occurring at the interfaces of hybrid nanowires.

Investigation of Thermoelectric Materials: Substitution effect of Bi on the Ag1-xPb18MTe20 (M = Sb, Bi) (x = 0, 0.14, 0.3)

2007 ◽  
Vol 1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi-kyung Han ◽  
Huijun Kong ◽  
Ctirad Uher ◽  
Mercouri G Kanatzidis
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Seebeck Coefficient ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Lattice Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Substitution Effect ◽  
Dimensionless Figure Of Merit ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Mass Fluctuation

AbstractWe performed comparative investigations of the Ag1-xPb18MTe20 (M = Bi, Sb) (x = 0, 0.14, 0.3) system to better understand the roles of Sb and Bi on the thermoelectric properties. In both systems, the electrical conductivity nearly keeps the same values, while the Seebeck coefficient decreases dramatically in going from Sb to Bi. Compared to the lattice thermal conductivity of PbTe, that of AgPb18BiTe20 is substantially reduced. The lattice thermal conductivity of the Bi analog, however, is higher than that of AgPb18SbTe20 and this is attributed largely to the decrease in the degree of mass fluctuation between the nanostructures and the matrix (for the Bi analog). As a result the dimensionless figure of merit ZT of Ag1-xPb18MTe20 (M = Bi) is found to be smaller than that of Ag1-xPb18MTe20 (M = Sb).

scholarly journals Thermoelectric Materials for Textile Applications

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 3154
Author(s):  
Kony Chatterjee ◽  
Tushar K. Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Carbon Nanotubes ◽  
Seebeck Coefficient ◽  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Inorganic Materials ◽  
Peltier Effect ◽  
Electronic Textiles ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Recent Attention

Since prehistoric times, textiles have served an important role–providing necessary protection and comfort. Recently, the rise of electronic textiles (e-textiles) as part of the larger efforts to develop smart textiles, has paved the way for enhancing textile functionalities including sensing, energy harvesting, and active heating and cooling. Recent attention has focused on the integration of thermoelectric (TE) functionalities into textiles—making fabrics capable of either converting body heating into electricity (Seebeck effect) or conversely using electricity to provide next-to-skin heating/cooling (Peltier effect). Various TE materials have been explored, classified broadly into (i) inorganic, (ii) organic, and (iii) hybrid organic-inorganic. TE figure-of-merit (ZT) is commonly used to correlate Seebeck coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity. For textiles, it is important to think of appropriate materials not just in terms of ZT, but also whether they are flexible, conformable, and easily processable. Commercial TEs usually compromise rigid, sometimes toxic, inorganic materials such as bismuth and lead. For textiles, organic and hybrid TE materials are more appropriate. Carbon-based TE materials have been especially attractive since graphene and carbon nanotubes have excellent transport properties with easy modifications to create TE materials with high ZT and textile compatibility. This review focuses on flexible TE materials and their integration into textiles.

scholarly journals Polycrystalline SnSe with a thermoelectric figure of merit greater than the single crystal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chongjian Zhou ◽  
Yong Kyu Lee ◽  
Yuan Yu ◽  
Sejin Byun ◽  
Zhong-Zhen Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Single Crystal ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Tin Selenide ◽  
Tin Oxides ◽  
Thermally Conductive

AbstractThermoelectric materials generate electric energy from waste heat, with conversion efficiency governed by the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT. Single-crystal tin selenide (SnSe) was discovered to exhibit a high ZT of roughly 2.2–2.6 at 913 K, but more practical and deployable polycrystal versions of the same compound suffer from much poorer overall ZT, thereby thwarting prospects for cost-effective lead-free thermoelectrics. The poor polycrystal bulk performance is attributed to traces of tin oxides covering the surface of SnSe powders, which increases thermal conductivity, reduces electrical conductivity and thereby reduces ZT. Here, we report that hole-doped SnSe polycrystalline samples with reagents carefully purified and tin oxides removed exhibit an ZT of roughly 3.1 at 783 K. Its lattice thermal conductivity is ultralow at roughly 0.07 W m–1 K–1 at 783 K, lower than the single crystals. The path to ultrahigh thermoelectric performance in polycrystalline samples is the proper removal of the deleterious thermally conductive oxides from the surface of SnSe grains. These results could open an era of high-performance practical thermoelectrics from this high-performance material.

Hierarchically 3D Nanoporous Structured Co9S8@Nix:Moy–Se Core–shell Nanowire Arrays Electrode for the High-performance Asymmetric Supercapacitors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dai Jiu Yi ◽  
Soram Bobby Singh ◽  
Nam Hoon Kim ◽  
Joong Hee Lee
Keyword(s):  
Energy Conversion ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Electrode Materials ◽  
Storage Systems ◽  
Nanowire Arrays ◽  
Core Shell ◽  
Good Strategy ◽  
Free Standing ◽  
Asymmetric Supercapacitors

The rational design of free-standing hierarchic core–shell nanoporous architectures is a good strategy for fabricating next-generation electrode materials for application to electrochemical energy conversion/storage systems. Herein, hierarchical core–shell 3D Co9S8@Nix:Moy–Se...

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.

High-performance p-type elemental Te thermoelectric materials enabled by the synergy of carrier tuning and phonon engineering

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (24) ◽  
pp. 12156-12168
Author(s):  
Decheng An ◽  
Shaoping Chen ◽  
Xin Zhai ◽  
Yuan Yu ◽  
Wenhao Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermoelectric Materials ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Phonon Transport ◽  
P Type

An outstanding figure-of-merit zT ≈ 1.06 at 600 K for p-type elemental Te thermoelectrics is realized by synergistically tuning their carrier and phonon transport behaviors via a multicomponent alloying strategy.

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