Additive Manufacturing of Thermoelectrics: Emerging Trends and Outlook

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has progressed rapidly in recent years, thanks to its versatility in printing complex and intricate shapes. Very recently, it has also been making inroads into functional and energy materials. On the other hand, thermoelectrics is a relatively mature field, with well-established understanding and design, especially on the materials level. However, complexities in device fabrication and scalability issues have greatly hindered thermoelectric (TE) applications. In this Focus Review, we discuss the advent of AM as a timely and important tool not only to overcome the scalability issues but also to achieve shape intricacies and conformability for flexible and wearable applications. In particular, direct ink writing (DIW), a subset under materials extrusion methods, holds great promise as a versatile fabrication technique for integrated TE devices. More importantly, we discuss the great promise of “engineered nanostructuring” using DIW as a new paradigm to improve TE performance beyond intrinsic properties.

Potential of Recycled Silicon and Silicon-Based Thermoelectrics for Power Generation

“…However, the effectiveness of these strategies is limited according to the defect type and the wavelengths of phonons [18,[38][39][40][41][42]. Alternatively, other strategies, such as band structure modulation, entropy engineering, and preferential scattering of minority carriers, can be explored, which aim to improve other components of thermal conductivity as well [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. More recently, a fresh perspective on engineering next-generation high-performance thermoelectrics has been reported, which includes low doping, in contrast to the "golden range of carrier concentration" [54,55].…”

Upcycling Silicon Photovoltaic Waste into Thermoelectrics

“…Through decades of work on thermoelectrics, the physical understanding and chemical intuition in engineering their high performance are well established. [ 21–25 ] Strategies such as band‐engineering, carrier scattering modulation, nanostructuring, resonant doping, and energy filtering have been well reported to enhance various aspects of thermoelectrics. [ 17,26–31 ]…”

“…[18][19][20] Through decades of work on thermoelectrics, the physical understanding and chemical intuition in engineering their high performance are well established. [21][22][23][24][25] Strategies such as band-engineering, carrier scattering modulation, nanostructuring, resonant doping, and energy filtering have been well reported to enhance various aspects of thermoelectrics. [17,[26][27][28][29][30][31] In this work, we turn waste silicon PV into thermoelectrics by pulverizing polycrystalline silicon into powder, followed by pelletization into ingot.…”

An Overview of Various Additive Manufacturing Technologies and Materials for Electrochemical Energy Conversion Applications

“…For example, in traditional methods, there is a disadvantage to produce flow channels, such as electrodes and bipolar plates for energy applications by machining methods, in terms of both cost and their geometrical structures. Therefore, the AM method has recently become the lead production system in terms of design freedom, material savings, and easy production of complex structures. , It was the first application of the photopolymerization method for the 3D printing method. This method was introduced in the 1980s by Hideo Kodama.…”

“…Therefore, the AM method has recently become the lead production system in terms of design freedom, material savings, and easy production of complex structures. 32 , 33 It was the first application of the photopolymerization method for the 3D printing method. This method was introduced in the 1980s by Hideo Kodama.…”