The influence of CNTs on the thermoelectric properties of a CNT/Bi2Te3 composite

Son

Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

2017

In the present study, electroless Ni-P plating was applied to Bi-Te-based thermoelectric materials as a barrier layer and the effect of the Ni-P plating on the bonding strength of the thermoelectric module was investigated. The bonding strength of the n-and p-type modules increased after being subjected to the electroless Ni-P plating treatment. In the case of the thermoelectric module that was not subjected to electroless Ni-P plating, Sn and Te were interdiffused and formed a brittle Sn-Te-based metallic compound. The shearing mostly occurred on the bonding interface where such an intermetallic compound was formed. On the other hands, it was found from the FE-EPMA analysis of the bonding interface of thermoelectric module subjected to electroless Ni-P plating that the electroless Ni-P plating acted as an anti-diffusion layer, preventing the interdiffusion of Sn and Te. Therefore, by forming such an anti-diffusion layer on the surface of the Bi-Te based thermoelectric element, the bonding strength of the thermoelectric module could be increased.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Electroless Ni–P Plating on the Bonding Strength of Bi–Te-Based Thermoelectric Modules

Son

Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

2017

Advances in Condensed Matter Physics

“…Unlike the CNT/graphene-polymer composites discussed in the previous section, there are much fewer studies [174,175] on CNTceramic TE materials because of the challenge of dispersing CNTs homogeneously in a ceramic matrix [173]. Kim et al approached this problem through a chemical way based on a molecular-level mixing process, in which MWCNTs were homogeneously embedded into Bi 2 Te 3 powders [173].…”

Section: Carbon Material-inorganic Materials Compositesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though not as popular as polymer-based composites, there have also been attempts to fabricate composites composed of CNT and ceramic TE materials [173][174][175]. Besides, chemically bonding CNT or graphene with other materials into a metamaterial [176][177][178], which can be viewed as a simple composite, was also investigated as a route towards future TE applications, which will be discussed at the end of this section.…”

Section: Carbon Materials Based Compositesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Freeman et al [220] fabricated n-type CNT-filled polymer composites by first dispersing CNTs with sodium [173]. The inset shows the schematic of the composite.…”

Section: Carbon Material-polymer Compositesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kim et al approached this problem through a chemical way based on a molecular-level mixing process, in which MWCNTs were homogeneously embedded into Bi 2 Te 3 powders [173]. The resulting MWCNT-Bi 2 Te 3 composite, of which the schematic is shown in Figure 16, exhibited a 55%-90% increase in ZT compared to pure Bi 2 Te 3 in the temperature range of 298-498 K. Specifically, the room-temperature ZT is increased from 0.28 to 0.48.…”

Section: Carbon Material-inorganic Materials Compositesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Carbon-Based Materials for Thermoelectrics

Chakraborty

Zahiri

et al. 2018

This article reviews the recent progress towards achieving carbon-based thermoelectric materials. A wide range of experimental and computational studies on carbon allotropes and composites is covered in this review paper. Specifically, we discuss the strategies for engineering graphene, graphene nanoribbon, graphene nanomesh, graphene nanowiggle, carbon nanotube (CNT), fullerene, graphyne, and carbon quantum dot for better thermoelectric performance. Moreover, we discuss the most recent advances in CNT/graphene-polymer composites and the related challenges and solutions. We also highlight the important charge and heat transfer mechanisms in carbon-based materials and state-of-the-art strategies for enhancing thermoelectric performance. Finally, we provide an outlook towards the future of carbon-based thermoelectrics.

Improved Thermoelectric Performance of Silver Nanoparticles‐Dispersed Bi₂Te₃ Composites Deriving from Hierarchical Two‐Phased Heterostructure

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2014

Adv Funct Materials

249

A practical and feasible bottom‐up chemistry approach is demonstrated to dramatically enhance thermoelectric properties of the Bi2Te3 matrix by means of exotically introducing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for constructing thermoelectric composites with the hierarchical two‐phased heterostructure. By regulating the content of AgNPs and fine‐tuning the architecture of nanostructured thermoelectric materials, more heat‐carrying phonons covering the broad phonon mean free path distribution range can be scattered. The results show that the uniformly dispersed AgNPs not only effectively suppress the growth of Bi2Te3 grains, but also introduce nanoscale precipitates and form new interfaces with the Bi2Te3 matrix, resulting in a hierarchical two‐phased heterostructure, which causes intense scattering of phonons with multiscale mean free paths, and therefore significantly reduce the lattice thermal conductivity. Meanwhile, the improved power factor is maintained due to low‐energy electron filtering and excellent electrical transport property of Ag itself. Consequently, the maximum ZT is amazingly found to be enhanced by 304% arising from the hierarchical heterostructure when the AgNPs content reaches 2.0 vol%. This study offers an easily scalable and low‐cost route to construct a wide range of multiscale hierarchically heterostructured bulk composites with significant enhancement of thermoelectric performance.