Thermoelectric Energy Conversion

The latest volume in the well-established AMN series, this ready reference provides an up-to-date, self-contained summary of recent developments in the technologies and systems for thermoelectricity.
Following an initial chapter that introduces the fundamentals and principles of thermoelectricity, subsequent chapters discuss the synthesis and integration of various bulk thermoelectric as well as nanostructured materials. The book then goes on to discuss characterization techniques, including various light and mechanic microscopy techniques, while also summarizing applications for thermoelectric materials, such as micro- and nano-thermoelectric generators, wearable electronics and energy conversion devices.
The result is a bridge between industry and scientific researchers seeking to develop thermoelectric generators.

Auteur
Diana Davila is currently an Advanced Senior Engineer at the IBM Research - Zurich Lab. She received her B.Sc. in Electronic Engineering, from the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico (2004) and her M.S. in Micro and Nanoelectronic Engineering (2008) and Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering (2011) from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain. She has conducted research on fuel cells, nanomaterials, thermoelectricity, spintronics and MEMS devices in multidisciplinary environments such as the Microelectronics Institute of Barcelona (IMB-CNM, CSIC), the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and ETH Zurich. Her current research interests focus on the development and integration of nanostructured thermoelectric materials for powering micro/nanodevices.

Alireza Rezaniakolaei studied Mechanical Engineering at University of Mazandaran, Iran and, got his PhD in Energy Engineering from Aalborg University in 2012. He is an Assistant Professor in Department of Energy Technology at Aalborg University, Denmark, where he holds the position of Thermoelectric Research Programme Chair. His current research interests include fluid mechanics, thermal engineering with focus on micro heat transfer surfaces applied to thermoelectric modules, and integration of thermoelctric technology with renewable systems and sensor applications.

Contenu

About the Editors xv

Series Editor's Preface xvii

List of Contributors xix

1 Utilizing Phase Separation Reactions for Enhancement of the Thermoelectric Efficiency in IVVI Alloys 1
*Yaniv Gelbstein*

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 IVVI Alloys for Waste Heat Thermoelectric Applications 2

1.3 Thermodynamically Driven Phase Separation Reactions 6

1.4 Selected IVVI Systems with Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties Following Phase Separation Reactions 9

1.5 Concluding Remarks 11

References 11

2 Nanostructured Materials: Enhancing the Thermoelectric Performance 15
*Ngo Van Nong and Le Thanh Hung*

2.1 Introduction 15

2.2 Approaches for Improving ZT 16

2.3 Recent Progress in Developing Bulk Thermoelectric Materials 18

2.4 Bulk Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials 20

2.4.1 Bi2Te3-Based Nanocomposites 20

2.4.2 PbTe-Based Nanostructured Materials 21

2.4.3 Half-Heusler Alloys 22

2.4.4 Nanostructured Skutterudite Materials 24

2.4.5 Nanostructured Oxide Materials 26

2.5 Outlook and Challenges 28

References 29

3 Organic Thermoelectric Materials 37
*Simone Fabiano, Ioannis Petsagkourakis, Guillaume Fleury, Georges Hadziioannou and Xavier Crispin*

3.1 Introduction 37

3.2 Seebeck Coefficient and Electronic Structure 41

3.3 Seebeck Coefficient and Charge Carrier Mobility 44

3.4 Optimization of the Figure of Merit 45

3.5 N-Doping of Conjugated Polymers 46

3.6 Elastic Thermoelectric Polymers 49

3.7 Conclusions 49

Acknowledgments 50

References 50

4 Silicon for Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Applications 53
*Dario Narducci, Luca Belsito and Alex Morata*

4.1 Introduction 53

4.1.1 Silicon as a Thermoelectric Material 53

4.1.2 Current Uses of Silicon in TEGs 54

4.2 Bulk and Thin-Film Silicon 55

4.2.1 Single-Crystalline and Polycrystalline Silicon 55

4.2.2 Degenerate and Phase-Segregated Silicon 58

4.3 Nanostructured Silicon: Physics of Nanowires and Nanolayers 61

4.3.1 Introduction 61

4.3.2 Electrical Transport in Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials 61

4.3.3 Phonon Transport in Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials 64

4.4 Bottom-Up Nanowires 64

4.4.1 Preparation Strategies 64

4.4.2 Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) 65

4.4.3 Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) 66

4.4.4 Laser Ablation 66

4.4.5 Solution-Based Techniques 67

4.4.6 Catalyst Materials 67

4.4.7 Catalyst Deposition Methods 68

4.5 Material Properties and Thermoelectric Efficiency 69

4.6 Top-Down Nanowires 69

4.6.1 Preparation Strategies 69

4.6.2 Material Properties and Thermoelectric Efficiency 73

4.7 Applications of Bulk and Thin-Film Silicon and SiGe Alloys to Energy Harvesting 75

4.8 Applications of Nanostructured Silicon to Energy Harvesting 77

4.8.1 Bottom-Up Nanowires 77

4.8.2 Top-Down Nanowires 78

4.9 Summary and Outlook 81

Acknowledgments 82

References 82

5 Techniques for Characterizing Thermoelectric Materials: Methods and the Challenge of Consistency 93
*Hans-Fridtjof Pernau*

5.1 Introduction Hitting the Target 93

5.2 Thermal Transport in Gases and Solid-State Materials 94

5.3 The Combined Parameter ZT-Value 97

5.3.1 Electrical Conductivity 98

5.3.2 Seebeck Coefficient 101

5.3.3 Thermal Conductivity 103

5.4 Summary 107

Acknowledgments 107

References 107

6 Preparation and Characterization of TE Interfaces/Junctions 111
*Gao Min and Matthew Philips*

6.1 Introduction 111 6.2 Effects of Electrical and Therma...