An over 10% module efficiency obtained using non-Bi₂Te₃ thermoelectric materials for recovering heat of <600 K

Abstract

Thermoelectric technology offers unique advantages of all solid-state, silent and emission-free for waste-heat recovery applications. Yet existing thermoelectric modules, in particular for recovering low-grade but abundant heat of &lt;600 K,...

High figure-of-merit and power generation in high-entropy GeTe-based thermoelectrics

“…( A to C ) Temperature dependences of the power factor PF (A), lattice thermal conductivity κ L (B), and zT (C) values of all samples in this work. ( D ) Comparison of the average zT value in this work with the reported results for GeTe, SnSe, PbTe, FeNbSb, Ce 0.85 Fe 3 CoSb 12 , Cu 2 Se, and SnTe in the literature ( 5 , 11 , 13 , 17 , 20 – 22 , 29 – 35 , 41 , 61 , 62 ). ( E and F ) Current dependences of the output voltage and output power (E) and conversion efficiencies (F) for the fabricated 11 , 7:3 , 8:3 , and 9:3 modules.…”

“…1B), respectively. These experimental values were among the highest in the entire TE community (4,(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45), indicating an important step toward TE applications.…”

Enhancement of Energy Conversion Efficiency via Interfacial Carrier Diffusion in Microscale Segmented Thermoelectric Materials

“…Xing et al and Bu et al presented measured energy conversion efficiencies and proposed that efficiencies greater than 10% may be achieved with homogeneous TE legs in macroscopic applications. The efficiency may be further improved by using the segmented TE legs.…”

“…The present model provides a new avenue for enhancing the energy conversion efficiency of microscale TE legs with segmented and graded carrier concentration distributions. Xing et al 23 and Bu et al 24 presented measured energy conversion efficiencies and proposed that efficiencies greater than 10% may be achieved with homogeneous TE legs in macroscopic applications. The efficiency may be further improved by using the segmented TE legs.…”

Mg3(Bi,Sb)2-based thermoelectric modules for efficient and reliable waste-heat utilization up to 750 K

“…Currently, commercially available TE modules for power generation are mainly Bi 2 Te 3based modules. 7,8 The optimal operating temperature of these modules is still below 500 K due to the unfavorable bipolar effect induced by the narrow bandgap of Bi 2 Te 3 , 8 and they are limited to niche applications due to the low conversion efficiency (approximately 5-6%) 9,10 and scarcity of elemental Te. 9 In practice, recovery of waste heat up to the mid-temperature range (500-800 K), 11 which matches the majority of industrial waste heat sources suitable for energy harvesting, 12 offers greater application potential and is thus the area for which TE materials have been most intensively developed, such as PbTe, 3,5 GeTe, 11,13 SnSe, 4,14 skutterudite (SKD), 15 Cu 2 Se, 16 and half-Heusler (HH).…”