Environmentally Friendly Thermoelectric Materials: High Performance from Inorganic Components with Low Toxicity and Abundance in the Earth

Abstract

energy would improve the efficiency of all these processes. In this context, thermoelectric devices provide a unique opportunity with significant advantages relative to other types of conversion, such as durability (no moving parts or fluids inside the generator), noise-free, low maintenance, modulability, and their applicability at different scales (from microdevices to large spaces to produce kilowatts), etc. [2] The implementation of thermoelectric generators has been limited for many years because of their low efficiency and high cost. There are examples of these limited applications like in space missions such as the Voyager, Apollo, Curiosity, etc. [3] when reliability is mandatory. Other niche applications with products that are being sold are, for instance, the powering of smartwatches with wasted

Unraveling the Impact of Graphene Addition to Thermoelectric SrTiO3 and La-Doped SrTiO3 Materials: A Density Functional Theory Study

“…Most TE materials currently on the market are alloys containing bismuth, antimony, and tellurium, 15−18 which are rare, toxic, and/or expensive. While the highest ZT are currently obtained with chalcogenide TEs, 19,20 recent work has shown that metal oxides 20−22 such as CaMnO 3 , 23 SrTiO 3 , 24−27 M 2 CoO 3 , 28 BaTiO 3 , 29 tungsten bronze, 30,31 Bi 2 Sr 2 Co 1.8 O y , 32 In 2 O 3 , 33 and La 1/3 NbO 3 34 may be promising alternatives to conventional TE materials while being made from cheaper, more earth-abundant, and less toxic materials. 35,36 Among the potential oxide TEs, strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ; STO) shows promise due to its thermal stability at high temperature and tolerance to doping.…”

“…Most TE materials currently on the market are alloys containing bismuth, antimony, and tellurium, − which are rare, toxic, and/or expensive. While the highest ZT are currently obtained with chalcogenide TEs, , recent work has shown that metal oxides − such as CaMnO 3 , SrTiO 3 , − M 2 CoO 3 , BaTiO 3 , tungsten bronze, , Bi 2 Sr 2 Co 1.8 O y , In 2 O 3 , and La 1/3 NbO 3 may be promising alternatives to conventional TE materials while being made from cheaper, more earth-abundant, and less toxic materials. , Among the potential oxide TEs, strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ; STO) shows promise due to its thermal stability at high temperature and tolerance to doping. ,, Bulk SrTiO 3 has a relatively poor ZT , and thus doping has been extensively explored as a possible route to improving its performance with examples including substituting Sr sites with rare-earth elements such as La , and Ti sites with other transition metals such s Nb. − La doping has been shown to promote the formation of A-site vacancies, which both increases the electrical conductivity and decreases the thermal conductivity through enhanced phonon scattering . Doping with La under reducing conditions further leads to the formation of oxygen vacancies, which decreases the thermal conductivity while having minimal impact on the electrical conductivity.…”

Structural study and evaluation of thermoelectric properties of single-phase isocubanite (CuFe2S3) synthesized via an ultra-fast efficient microwave radiation technique

“…In this context, research efforts are focused on the development of processing methods and thermoelectric materials, that can exhibit high performance and be produced on a larger scale at an economically viable cost. 9,10 The sulfide minerals are the primary source of world supplies of a wide range of metals. They are the most important ore minerals, 11 thus making them highly relevant for large-scale industrial applications.…”

Vacuum-Deposited Cesium Tin Iodide Thin Films with Tunable Thermoelectric Properties

“… 9 Because the majority of these applications require room or moderate temperatures, TE materials with good performance below 100 °C are needed. 10 …”