Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Researchers develop novel technique to convert thermoelectric material into high performance electricity

Pooja Puneet, Ph.D., the lead author on the article published in Scientific Reports and Prof. Jian He discuss their custom-made resistivity and Seebeck measurement system which is located in Prof. Terry Tritt’s complex advanced material laboratory.
Pooja Puneet, Ph.D., the lead author on the article published in Scientific Reports and Prof. Jian He discuss their custom-made resistivity and Seebeck measurement system which is located in Prof. Terry Tritt’s complex advanced material laboratory.

Abstract:
by Ramakrishna Podila

A team of Clemson University physicists consisting of nanomaterial scientists Apparao Rao and Ramakrishna Podila and thermoelectricians Terry Tritt, Jian He and Pooja Puneet worked synergistically through the newly established Clemson Nanomaterials Center to develop a novel technique of tailoring thermoelectric properties of n-type bismuth telluride for high thermoelectric performance.

Researchers develop novel technique to convert thermoelectric material into high performance electricity

Clemson, SC | Posted on November 19th, 2013

Their findings were published in journal Scientific Reports.

The current US energy economy and environment are increasingly threatened by fast-dwindling domestic reserves of fossil fuel coupled with severe environmental impact of fossil fuel combustion. Highly-efficient thermoelectric devices are expected to provide clean energy technology-needs of the hour for US energy sustainability. This research is a step towards optimizing the device performance since it outlines a methodology to overcome a challenge that has "frustrated" thermoelectric researchers to date.

Thermoelectric (TE) devices convert waste heat into electricity through a unique material's property called the Seebeck effect. Basically, the Seebeck effect results in a voltage across the two ends of a TE material, akin to the voltage present across the two ends of a AA battery, when the TE material is properly exposed to the waste heat. In such devices, the efficiency of converting heat into electricity is governed by certain strongly coupled materials properties, viz., electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. A functional TE device consists of multiple legs made up of p-type and n-type materials, just as a diode comprises of a p-n junction.

Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) is a layered material and can be viewed as a deck of playing cards, wherein each card is only a few atoms thick. Bi2Te3 is currently regarded as the state-of-the-art TE material with high efficiency for converting waste heat into electricity, and is therefore attractive for energy harvesting processes.

Traditional nanosizing methods failed to improve the performance of n-type Bi2Te3 since they simply downgrade all materials properties simultaneously. Therefore, Clemson researchers and colleagues developed a novel nanosizing method in which we first peel n-type Bi2Te3 into atomically thin-sheets (akin to graphene which is one atom thick sheet of carbon atoms) and reassemble them using a spark plasma sintering process.

The researchers found that that the above described two-step process of first separating the deck of cards into individual cards and then re-assembling them into a deck via spark plasma sintering does enable us to suitably tailor the materials properties of n-type Bi2Te3for high TE performance. In this approach, the so-called ‘interfacial charged defects' are generated in the sintered n-type Bi2Te3 which not only improves its structural properties but also its thermoelectric efficiency over a wide temperature window, thus making it extremely compatible with p-type Bi2Te3 for manufacturing efficient TE devices.

The improved compatibility factor (demonstrated in this paper) is expected to open new possibilities for highly efficient TE devices. The fascinating and noteworthy element of this research is that defects, which often connote impurity and are associated with low performance or efficiency, can indeed be used to tune the properties of materials to our advantage.

Today's scientific community lacks a comprehensive understanding of defects, mainly due to the absence of methods that can controllably generate and manipulate defects. The future of this research will be aimed at developing tools to generate and study defects at a fundamental level which will in turn allow the researchers to optimize materials properties of not only TE materials but also of a new class of two-dimensional materials beyond the Nobel-winning graphene for energy generation and storage.

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Ramakrishna Podila

Copyright © Clemson University

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related Links

Link for further reading:

Related News Press

News and information

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Energy

Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024

Shedding light on unique conduction mechanisms in a new type of perovskite oxide November 17th, 2023

Inverted perovskite solar cell breaks 25% efficiency record: Researchers improve cell efficiency using a combination of molecules to address different November 17th, 2023

The efficient perovskite cells with a structured anti-reflective layer – another step towards commercialization on a wider scale October 6th, 2023

Battery Technology/Capacitors/Generators/Piezoelectrics/Thermoelectrics/Energy storage

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Discovery of new Li ion conductor unlocks new direction for sustainable batteries: University of Liverpool researchers have discovered a new solid material that rapidly conducts lithium ions February 16th, 2024

A battery’s hopping ions remember where they’ve been: Seen in atomic detail, the seemingly smooth flow of ions through a battery’s electrolyte is surprisingly complicated February 16th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project