Thermoelectric (TE) devices for power generation have been attracting increasing attention on account of their advantages such as solid-state operation, good stability, and high reliability. This paper presents an overview of the design principle, fabrication methods and testing technology of TE power generation devices. Particular attention is paid to skutterudite-based devices regarding electrode fabrication, barrier layer design, interface optimization, protective coating, and evaluation of elements and modules. The development of Bi 2 Te 3 -based devices for power generation focusing specifically on the optimization of Bi 2 Te 3 /electrode joints and fabrication and evaluation of Bi 2 Te 3 -based modules is summarized. The future challenges concerning TE devices for power generation are discussed.
CoSb 3 -C 60 composites were prepared by solid state reaction and sintering process. The constituent phases of the samples were determined by XRD. SEM observation showed that C 60 particles dispersed in CoSb 3 matrix uniformly. The thermal conductivity was reduced greatly by dispersing C 60 particles as extended defects between 300K and 800K. Thermal conductivity decreased with increasing C 60 content. The effect of the particle distribution on thermal conductivity of skutterudites is discussed.
Ti5Si3-TiC-Ti3SiC2 composites containing different Ti3SiC2 volume fractions from 0 to 50%
were in-situ fabricated by spark plasma sintering using Ti and SiC powders through adjusting the molar
ratio of Ti to SiC. The morphologies of the fracture surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron
microscopy (SEM). The room temperature mechanical properties of composites including hardness,
bending strength and fracture toughness were tested.
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