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Thermoelectric Materials and Applications for Energy Harvesting Power Generation

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2021) | Viewed by 10565

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
Interests: thermoelectric; 2D materials; chalcogenides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, the reduction of greenhouse gases with regard to global environmental variation has been a worldwide issue for energy and environmental research. The increasing urgency to address this global issue requires a sustainable method involving effective recovery of wasted energy.

Thermoelectricity can be considered for use in the technology of renewable energy sources because it can directly convert wasted thermal energy into useful electric energy. Recent developments in thermoelectric materials have resulted in the expansion of thermoelectric field, however, novel high-performance thermoelectric materials that are cost-effective and nontoxic need to be developed in order to further expand the field of possible thermoelectric applications. In addition to the development of thermoelectric materials, thermoelectric modules should also be developed with regard to flexibility, high performance, and high reliability.

Hence, this Special Issue will address recent works in the field of thermoelectric materials, their integration into thermoelectric modules targeted for various temperature range of wasted thermal energy, and their applications. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Inorganic thermoelectric materials
  • Organic or organic/inorganic hybrid thermoelectric materials
  • Advances synthesis and processing in thermoelectric materials
  • Thermoelectric module with rigid/flexible substrate
  • Applications on energy harvesting power generation

Prof. Sang-il Kim
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • thermoelectric materials
  • hybrid thermoelectric materials
  • thermal conductivity
  • advanced processing technology
  • thermoelectric module
  • power generation
  • energy harvesting

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 11616 KiB  
Article
Investigation of Phase Segregation in p-Type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 Thermoelectric Alloys by In Situ Melt Spinning to Determine Possible Carrier Filtering Effect
by Dong Ho Kim, TaeWan Kim, Se Woong Lee, Hyun-Sik Kim, Weon Ho Shin and Sang-il Kim
Materials 2021, 14(24), 7567; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247567 - 09 Dec 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1871
Abstract
One means of enhancing the performance of thermoelectric materials is to generate secondary nanoprecipitates of metallic or semiconducting properties in a thermoelectric matrix, to form proper band bending and, in turn, to induce a low-energy carrier filtering effect. However, forming nanocomposites is challenging, [...] Read more.
One means of enhancing the performance of thermoelectric materials is to generate secondary nanoprecipitates of metallic or semiconducting properties in a thermoelectric matrix, to form proper band bending and, in turn, to induce a low-energy carrier filtering effect. However, forming nanocomposites is challenging, and proper band bending relationships with secondary phases are largely unknown. Herein, we investigate the in situ phase segregation behavior during melt spinning with various metal elements, including Ti, V, Nb, Mo, W, Ni, Pd, and Cu, in p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 (BST) thermoelectric alloys. The results showed that various metal chalcogenides were formed, which were related to the added metal elements as secondary phases. The electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity of the BST composite with various secondary phases were measured and compared with those of pristine BST alloys. Possible band alignments with the secondary phases are introduced, which could be utilized for further investigation of a possible carrier filtering effect when forming nanocomposites. Full article
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12 pages, 3879 KiB  
Article
Development of High-Performance Thermoelectric Materials by Microstructure Control of P-Type BiSbTe Based Alloys Fabricated by Water Atomization
by Babu Madavali, Pathan Sharief, Kyoung-Tae Park, Gian Song, Song-Yi Back, Jong-Soo Rhyee and Soon-Jik Hong
Materials 2021, 14(17), 4870; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14174870 - 27 Aug 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1823
Abstract
Developing inexpensive and rapid fabrication methods for high efficiency thermoelectric alloys is a crucial challenge for the thermoelectric industry, especially for energy conversion applications. Here, we fabricated large amounts of p-type Cu0.07Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 alloys, using water atomization [...] Read more.
Developing inexpensive and rapid fabrication methods for high efficiency thermoelectric alloys is a crucial challenge for the thermoelectric industry, especially for energy conversion applications. Here, we fabricated large amounts of p-type Cu0.07Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 alloys, using water atomization to control its microstructure and improve thermoelectric performance by optimizing its initial powder size. All the water atomized powders were sieved with different aperture sizes, of 32–75 μm, 75–125 μm, 125–200 μm, and <200 μm, and subsequently consolidated using hot pressing at 490 °C. The grain sizes were found to increase with increasing powder particle size, which also increased carrier mobility due to improved carrier transport. The maximum electrical conductivity of 1457.33 Ω−1 cm−1 was obtained for the 125–200 μm samples due to their large grain sizes and subsequent high mobility. The Seebeck coefficient slightly increased with decreasing particle size due to scattering of carriers at fine grain boundaries. The higher power factor values of 4.20, 4.22 × 10−3 W/mk2 were, respectively, obtained for large powder specimens, such as 125–200 μm and 75–125 μm, due to their higher electrical conductivity. In addition, thermal conductivity increased with increasing particle size due to the improvement in carriers and phonons transport. The 75–125 μm powder specimen exhibited a relatively high thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT of 1.257 due to this higher electric conductivity. Full article
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8 pages, 3273 KiB  
Article
Ti Addition Effect on the Grain Structure Evolution and Thermoelectric Transport Properties of Hf0.5Zr0.5NiSn0.98Sb0.02 Half-Heusler Alloy
by Junsang Cho, Taegyu Park, Ki Wook Bae, Hyun-Sik Kim, Soon-Mok Choi, Sang-il Kim and Sung Wng Kim
Materials 2021, 14(14), 4029; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14144029 - 19 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Compositional tuning is one of the important approaches to enhance the electronic and thermal transport properties of thermoelectric materials since it can generate point defects as well as control the phase evolution behavior. Herein, we investigated the Ti addition effect on the grain [...] Read more.
Compositional tuning is one of the important approaches to enhance the electronic and thermal transport properties of thermoelectric materials since it can generate point defects as well as control the phase evolution behavior. Herein, we investigated the Ti addition effect on the grain growth during melt spinning and thermoelectric transport properties of Hf0.5Zr0.5NiSn0.98Sb0.02 half-Heusler compound. The characteristic grain size of melt-spun ribbons was reduced by Ti addition, and very low lattice thermal conductivity lower than 0.27 W m−1 K−1 was obtained within the whole measured temperature range (300–800 K) due to the intensified point defect (substituted Ti) and grain boundary (reduced grain size) phonon scattering. Due to this synergetic effect on the thermal transport properties, a maximum thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, of 0.47 was obtained at 800 K in (Hf0.5Zr0.5)0.8Ti0.2NiSn0.98Sb0.02. Full article
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10 pages, 1646 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Nonlinear Transient Energy Effect on Thermoelectric Energy Storage Structure
by Jia Yu, Hongji Zhu, Li Kong, Haoqing Wang, Jiawen Su and Qingshan Zhu
Materials 2020, 13(16), 3639; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163639 - 17 Aug 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1776
Abstract
In complex flight conditions, due to the large amount of unusable heat generated by aerodynamic heating, the thermal protection system of an aircraft needs to withstand a large temperature shock, which brings great challenges to the design of the structure. In order to [...] Read more.
In complex flight conditions, due to the large amount of unusable heat generated by aerodynamic heating, the thermal protection system of an aircraft needs to withstand a large temperature shock, which brings great challenges to the design of the structure. In order to effectively utilize the irregular aerodynamic heat, and improve structural heat conduction, a composite structure is formed by using phase change energy storage materials on the basis of the thermoelectric structure, which transforms the aerodynamic waste heat into stable electric energy for the internal system. Through the study of the response of nonlinear transient energy, it is found that the thermoelectric and mechanical properties of the new structure can be improved by adding phase change energy storage materials. Under actual flight conditions, the new structure can reduce the maximum temperature by 180 K and the maximum thermal stress by 110 Mpa. The mechanical properties of the structure are effectively improved, the service life of the structure is prolonged, and the waste heat can be converted into stable electrical energy output to improve the thermoelectric output performance. On the premise of ensuring conversion efficiency, the output power of the new structure has been improved by 64.8% through structural optimization under actual flight conditions. Full article
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10 pages, 2154 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of PEDOT: PSS-PVP Nanofiber-Embedded Sb2Te3 Thermoelectric Films by Multi-Step Coating and Their Improved Thermoelectric Properties
by Sang-il Kim, Kang Yeol Lee and Jae-Hong Lim
Materials 2020, 13(12), 2835; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13122835 - 24 Jun 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2796
Abstract
Antimony telluride thin films display intrinsic thermoelectric properties at room temperature, although their Seebeck coefficients and electrical conductivities may be unsatisfactory. To address these issues, we designed composite films containing upper and lower Sb2Te3 layers encasing conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)- polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) [...] Read more.
Antimony telluride thin films display intrinsic thermoelectric properties at room temperature, although their Seebeck coefficients and electrical conductivities may be unsatisfactory. To address these issues, we designed composite films containing upper and lower Sb2Te3 layers encasing conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)- polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) nanowires. Thermoelectric Sb2Te3/PEDOT:PSS-PVP/Sb2Te3(ED) (STPPST) hybrid composite films were prepared by a multi-step coating process involving sputtering, electrospinning, and electrodeposition stages. The STPPST hybrid composites were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. The thermoelectric performance of the prepared STPPST hybrid composites, evaluated in terms of the power factor, electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, demonstrated enhanced thermoelectric efficiency over a reference Sb2Te3 film. The performance of the composite Sb2Te3/PEDOT:PSS-PVP/Sb2Te3 film was greatly enhanced, with σ = 365 S/cm, S = 124 μV/K, and a power factor 563 μW/mK. Full article
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