Thermoelectric materials and applications for energy harvesting power generation

Abstract

Thermoelectrics, in particular solid-state conversion of heat to electricity, is expected to be a key energy harvesting technology to power ubiquitous sensors and wearable devices in the future. A comprehensive review is given on the principles and advances in the development of thermoelectric materials suitable for energy harvesting power generation, ranging from organic and hybrid organic-inorganic to inorganic materials. Examples of design and applications are also presented.

Manipulating the Ge Vacancies and Ge Precipitates through Cr Doping for Realizing the High‐Performance GeTe Thermoelectric Material

“…The thermoelectric effect is currently a widely discussed topic as one of the alternative green approaches for electrical power generation. [ 1–4 ] Commercial applications of thermoelectric power generation have been largely limited due to the low conversion efficiency of TE materials, which is quantified by the average dimensionless figure of merit (ZT), defined as ZT = ( S 2 σ/κ) T , where S , σ, κ, and T are the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and absolute temperature, respectively. [ 5 ] An ideal thermoelectric material must strike a balance between the conflicting requirements of high Seebeck coefficient, S ; high electrical conductivity, σ; and low thermal conductivity, κ .…”

Realizing p-type NbCoSn half-Heusler compounds with enhanced thermoelectric performance via Sc substitution

“…This could become a pathway to more sustainable energy converters in times of energy consumption [2][3][4][5]. However, up to now the application of thermoelectric devices is limited by the low energy conversion efficiency η, which is essentially decided by the materials' dimensionless figure of merit ZT: ZT = S 2 σT/κ (κ = κ c + κ L ), where S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, κ is the total thermal conductivity (κ c and κ L are the carrier and lattice components of κ, respectively), and T is the absolute temperature [6,7]. Thus, the combination of high S, σ and low κ is desirable for a large ZT.…”

Ultra-High Performance Organic Thermoelectric Generators through Interfacial Doping Gradients

“…Over the last decade, organic (semi)conductors have attracted major attention from the thermoelectrics community thanks to a series of compelling and unique properties, such as simple processing and manufacturing, mechanical exibility, high abundance with respect to their atomic elements, as well as electric-to-thermal conductivity ratios (σ/κ) similar to those of conventional inorganic alloys operating at low temperatures (< 200 °C). Various strategies have emerged to increase the Seebeck coe cient (S), power factor (σ S 2 ), and gure of merit ZT (= σ S 2 T/κ) of thermoelectric polymers [1][2][3][4] . Today the best-performing organic thermoelectric material comprises positively charged poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) chains that are charge-compensated with anionic counterions X (PEDOT:X), yielding ZT values in the range 0.25-0.4 at room temperature 5,6 .…”