3D Printed SnSe Thermoelectric Generators with High Figure of Merit

Abstract

Since the discovery of the record figure of merit (ZT) of 2.6 ± 0.3 in tin selenide (SnSe), the material has attracted much attention in the field of thermoelectrics. This paper reports a novel pseudo‐3D printing technique to fabricate bulk SnSe thermoelectric elements, allowing for the fabrication of standard configuration thermoelectric generators. In contrast to fabrication examples presented to date, this technique is potentially very low‐cost and allows for facile, scalable, and rapid fabrication. Bulk SnSe thermoelectric elements are produced and characterized over a wide range of temperatures. An element printed from an ink with 4% organic binder produces the highest performance, with a ZT value of 1.7 (±0.25) at 758 K. This is the highest ZT reported of any printed thermoelectric material, and the first bulk printed material to operate at this temperature. Finally, a proof‐of‐concept, all printed SnSe thermoelectric generator is presented, producing 20 µW at 772 K.

Ductile Ag20S7Te3 with Excellent Shape‐Conformability and High Thermoelectric Performance

“…The other approach is to use 3D printing technique to prepare hetero‐shape TE legs. This technique has been already applied to many TE materials, such as Bi 2 Te 3 , [ 15 ] SnSe, [ 16 ] Cu 2 S, [ 17 ] Mg 2 Si, [ 18 ] and ZrNiSn. [ 19 ] One typical example is the conformal cylindrical Bi 2 Te 3 ‐based TEG prepared by Kim et al., which shows higher power output than that of conventional planar generators.…”

Earth abundant, non-toxic, 3D printed Cu2−xS with high thermoelectric figure of merit

“…not thin lms) have been investigated for Bi 2 Te 3 and SnSe with promising results. 28,29 Whilst these examples show the potential of printed thermoelectrics, they both require toxic and low Earth abundant elements. This work for the rst time demonstrates printed all Earth-abundant, standard geometry, thermoelectric elements.…”

Toward Accelerated Thermoelectric Materials and Process Discovery

“…More recently, some emerging techniques have been developed including electrochemical deposition-based technique to fabricate micro-legs 151 , CMOS fabrication techniques 152 , and 3D printed legs. 153 With the advancement and expected maturity of 3D printing technologies, we expect it to play a pivotal role for large scale, facile thermoelectric device fabrication in the near future.…”