Thermoelectric Materials and Applications: A Review

Abstract

Solid-state energy conversion has been established as one of the most promising solutions to address the issues related to conventional energy generation. Thermoelectric materials allow direct energy conversion without moving parts and being deprived of greenhouse gases emission, employing lightweight and quiet devices. Current applications, main thermoelectric material classes, and manufacturing methods are the topics of this work; the discussion revolves around the crucial need for highly performing materials in the mid-temperature range, and around the development of more scalable fabrication technologies. The different manufacturing methods for thermoelectric bulk materials and films are also discussed. Small-scale technologies are generating increasing interest in research; the high potential of aerosol jet printing is highlighted, stressing the many advantages of this technology. A promising approach to scale the production of miniaturized thermoelectric devices that combines high energy ball milling and aerosol jet printing is proposed in the conclusion.

Planar Thermoelectric Microgenerators in Application to Power RFID Tags

“…The main component of a microgenerator is the thermoelectric module, also called the thermopile, which consists of many pairs of thermocouples. The most common materials in microgenerators are usually bismuth, tellurium, and lead-based compounds [ 2 ]. These materials have thermoelectric properties that allow them to efficiently convert the temperature difference into electrical energy.…”

Sulfur Vacancy-Driven Band Splitting and Phonon Anharmonicity Enhance the Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type CuFeS2

“…Moreover, a high-performance TE material must possess a high σ, and a large S with low total thermal conductivity, κ total = κ el + κ latt , in order to yield a high zT . However, attaining a high zT is cumbersome because S , σ, and κ el are interdependent on the carrier concentration. − In this regard, numerous strategies have been implemented to increase the numerator part, power factor ( S 2 σ), such as the energy filtering of minority carriers, − creating resonant states around the Fermi level ( E F ), − and facilitating the convergence of valence subbands. − Alternatively, the thermal conductivity could also be effectively reduced by introducing nano/meso-precipitates, − grain boundary phonon scattering, − and intrinsic bond anharmonicity − in the state-of-the-art materials, such as Bi 2 Te 3 , , PbTe, , SnSe, , GeTe, , and have been recently promoted as highly efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly TE materials belonging to classes, namely silicides, − skutterudites, , and antimonides. − On the other hand, high-performance TE materials comprise toxic, expensive, or scarce elements in their composition, which resulted in the hunt for alternate earth-abundant materials containing inexpensive elements, leading to the discovery of ternary and quaternary sulfides. While p -type sulfides show enhanced figure of merit, n- type equivalents, however, remain scarce.…”

Electronic and Thermal Transport Properties of Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials Sintered from Chemically Synthesized Tin Sulfide Nanoparticles and Effects of Ag and Se Doping

“…Another problem, and this is not limited to SnS, is that general methods of fabricating thermoelectric materials require long hours and high temperatures, as described above . On the other hand, wet chemical synthesis offers a shorter and lower-energy approach than the conventional methods of fabricating thermoelectric materials such as vacuum melting.…”