Search results for "thermoelectric materials"
showing 10 items of 72 documents
Concepts for medium-high to high temperature thermoelectric heat-to-electricity conversion: a review of selected materials and basic considerations o…
2015
Within the last decade, novel materials concepts and nanotechnology have resulted in a great increase of the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric materials. Despite this, a mass market for thermoelectric heat-to-electricity conversion is yet to be opened up. One reason for this is that the transfer of the lab records into fabrication techniques which enable thermoelectric generator modules is very challenging. By closing the gap between record lab values and modules, broad industrial applications may become feasible. In this review, we compare three classes of materials, all designed for medium-high to high temperature applications in the field of waste heat recovery: skutterudites, half…
Engineering half-Heusler thermoelectric materials using Zintl chemistry
2016
In this Review, the structure, bonding and defects of half-Heusler compounds are explained in terms of the framework of Zintl (or valence-precise) chemistry. This deeper understanding of the structure and electronic properties of half-Heusler compounds should aid the design of improved thermoelectric materials.
Local Bonding Influence on the Band Edge and Band Gap Formation in Quaternary Chalcopyrites
2017
Quaternary chalcopyrites have shown to exhibit tunable band gaps with changing anion composition. Inspired by these observations, the underlying structural and electronic considerations are investigated using a combination of experimentally obtained structural data, molecular orbital considerations, and density functional theory. Within the solid solution Cu2ZnGeS4-x Se x , the anion bond alteration parameter changes, showing larger bond lengths for metal-selenium than for metal-sulfur bonds. The changing bonding interaction directly influences the valence and conduction band edges, which result from antibonding Cu-anion and Ge-anion interactions, respectively. The knowledge of the underlyi…
Enhanced thermoelectric performance of chalcopyrite nanocomposite via co-milling of synthetic and natural minerals
2020
Chalcopyrite CuFeS2 was shown to be a promising thermoelectric material. Considering thermoelectric efficiency, its relatively high and temperature weakly dependent power factor, economic affordability and ecological benignity is counterbalanced by a high lattice thermal conductivity. Thus it is highly desirable to lower the thermal conductivity of chalcopyrite thermoelectric material without deterioration of other thermoelectric characteristics. In our study, we demonstrate that mechanosynthesis followed by appropriate sintering enables to prepare such nanostructured ceramics with a favourable thermoelectric response. Our study shows that mechanosynthesis is a low-cost technological route …
Structural Principles and Thermoelectric Properties of Polytypic Group 14 Clathrate-II Frameworks
2013
We have investigated the structural principles and thermoelectric properties of polytypic group 14 clathrate-II frameworks using quantum chemical methods. The experimentally known cubic 3C polytype was found to be the energetically most favorable framework, but the studied hexagonal polytypes (2 H, 4 H, 6 H, 8 H, 10 H) lie energetically close to it. In the case of germanium, the energy difference between the 3C and 6H clathrate-II polytypes is ten times smaller than the difference between the experimentally known 3C-Ge (α-Ge) and 4H-Ge polytypes. The thermoelectric properties of guest-occupied clathrate-II structures were investigated for compositions Na-Rb-Ga-Ge and Ge-As-I. The clathrate-…
Nanowires: A route to efficient thermoelectric devices
2019
Miniaturization of electronic devices aims at manufacturing ever smaller products, from mesoscopic to nanoscopic sizes. This trend is challenging because the increased levels of dissipated power demands a better understanding of heat transport in small volumes. A significant amount of the consumed energy in electronics is transformed into heat and dissipated to the environment. Thermoelectric materials offer the possibility to harness dissipated energy and make devices less energy-demanding. Heat-to-electricity conversion requires materials with a strongly suppressed thermal conductivity but still high electronic conduction. Nanowires can meet nicely these two requirements because enhanced …
Growth mechanisms and related thermoelectric properties of innovative hybrid networks fabricated by direct deposition of Bi2Se3 and Sb2Te3 on multiwa…
2020
Abstract Flexible thermoelectric generators are an emerging trend in the field of waste heat conversion, as well as wearable and autonomous devices. However, the energy conversion efficiency of the state-of-the-art flexible thermoelectric devices is too low for their wide application and commercialization. In this work, n- and p-type multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-thermoelectric material hybrid networks that may become a promising building block for the fabrication of flexible thermoelectric devices are presented. The hybrid networks were fabricated by direct deposition of thermoelectric material (Bi2Se3, Sb2Te3) on the MWCNT networks using physical vapor deposition technique. Growth m…
Thermo-elektrische Verbindungen. Strom aus Abwärme
2011
Thermoelektrische Materialien bieten die Moglichkeit, thermische Gradienten in elektrische Energie umzuwandeln um somit Abwarme aus verschiedensten Prozessen zur Energieerzeugung zu nutzen. In diesem Artikel werden die physikalischen Hintergrunde der thermoelektrischen Effekte beschrieben sowie Aufbau und Wirkungsgrad thermoelektrischer Generatoren erlautert. Um eine Brucke zwischen der Physik und Chemie in Festkorpern zu schlagen, werden die unterschiedlichen physikalischen Transportprozesse in Festkorpern mit Hilfe chemischer Konzepte erlautert. Anhand von Beispielen fur thermoelektrische Materialien werden die Ansatze zur Maximierung des thermoelektrischen Wirkungsgrades und der Einfluss…
Hole localization in thermoelectric half-Heusler (Zr0.5Hf0.5)Co(Sb1−xSn ) thin films
2019
Abstract The (Ti, Zr, Hf)Co(Sb 1 − x Snx) material class has recently come into focus as an attractive p-type high-temperature thermoelectric material. This study experimentally demonstrates that homogeneous, highly textured (Zr0.5Hf0.5)Co(Sb 1 − x Snx) thin films can be grown on single crystalline MgO. By varying the sputter power, samples with both positive and negative Seebeck coefficient can be grown. The underlying reason for the sign change is the segregation of Sn nano-inclusions, which lower the effective doping of the half-Heusler matrix. Similarly the Hall constant also switches sign at low temperatures, which is modeled assuming semi-metal behavior and low temperature hole locali…
Effect of Isovalent Substitution on the Thermoelectric Properties of the Cu2ZnGeSe4–xSx Series of Solid Solutions
2013
Knowledge of structure–property relationships is a key feature of materials design. The control of thermal transport has proven to be crucial for the optimization of thermoelectric materials. We report the synthesis, chemical characterization, thermoelectric transport properties, and thermal transport calculations of the complete solid solution series Cu_2ZnGeSe_(4–x)S_x (x = 0–4). Throughout the substitution series a continuous Vegard-like behavior of the lattice parameters, bond distances, optical band gap energies, and sound velocities are found, which enables the tuning of these properties adjusting the initial composition. Refinements of the special chalcogen positions revealed a chang…