A Review on Thermophotovoltaic Cell and Its Applications in Energy Conversion: Issues and Recommendations

Abstract

Generally, waste heat is redundantly released into the surrounding by anthropogenic activities without strategized planning. Consequently, urban heat islands and global warming chronically increases over time. Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems can be potentially deployed to harvest waste heat and recuperate energy to tackle this global issue with supplementary generation of electrical energy. This paper presents a critical review on two dominant types of semiconductor materials, namely gallium antimonide (GaSb) and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), as the potential candidates for TPV cells. The advantages and drawbacks of non-epitaxy and epitaxy growth methods are well-discussed based on different semiconductor materials. In addition, this paper critically examines and summarizes the electrical cell performance of TPV cells made of GaSb, InGaAs and other narrow bandgap semiconductor materials. The cell conversion efficiency improvement in terms of structural design and architectural optimization are also comprehensively analyzed and discussed. Lastly, the practical applications, current issues and challenges of TPV cells are critically reviewed and concluded with recommendations for future research. The highlighted insights of this review will contribute to the increase in effort towards development of future TPV systems with improved cell conversion efficiency.

Electrical Power Generation from Industrial Waste Heat Sources According to the Iraqi Environment

“…Photovoltaic thermal generator is an innovative system for converting radiation from an artificial heat source using PV cells into electric power through a special filter that allows radiation waves to pass along a wavelength suitable for PV cells for the purpose of converting it into electric energy as shown in Figure (4). Generally similar to solar cells and radioactive is made from heat-resistant materials, the TPV system operates within a wide temperature range of 300-1500°C [24][25][26]. [26].…”

Refractory All-Ceramic Thermal Emitter for High-Temperature Near-Field Thermophotovoltaics

“…Nowadays, abundant waste heat is released into the environment by increasing anthropogenic activities without a deliberate plan, leaving climate issues like urban heat islands and global warming more severe. The thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system is one of the alternatives to solve this global issue and generate electrical energy meanwhile by harvesting waste heat [1]. A typical TPV system is composed of three components: a heat source, a selective thermal emitter (or a broadband emitter with a filter) and a TPV cell [2].…”

“…A typical TPV system is composed of three components: a heat source, a selective thermal emitter (or a broadband emitter with a filter) and a TPV cell [2]. The heat sources for the TPV system include the combustion of fuels, concentrated solar or nuclear energy, and industrial waste heat [1]. Compared with a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, the flexibility of converting various heat energy sources enables the TPV system to work for a longer operation time and broadens the TPV application in both micro-scale and large-scale TPV generators [3,4].…”

First-Principles Study of High-Pressure Phase Stability and Electron Properties of Be-P Compounds

“…An important part of computational materials science is predicting novel forms of materials and describing their different characteristics, which are influenced by their electronic structures. Narrow-gap semiconducting substances are an important material with a number of applications, including lasers, infrared detectors, ultrasonic multipliers, and solar cells [ 1 ], electrically driven light sources [ 2 ], magnetic sensors [ 3 ], and thermophotovoltaic cells [ 4 ]. Although the III–V group phosphides and nitrides [ 5 ] have received the most attention, the II–V group compounds are also being investigated for optoelectronic applications [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”