Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

Thermoelectric Materials and Devices summarizes the latest research achievements over the past 20 years of thermoelectric material and devices, most notably including new theory and strategies of thermoelectric materials design and the new technology of device integration. The book's author has provided a bridge between the knowledge of basic physical/chemical principles and the fabrication technology of thermoelectric materials and devices, providing readers with research and development strategies for high performance thermoelectric materials and devices. It will be a vital resource for graduate students, researchers and technologists working in the field of energy conversion and the development of thermoelectric devices.- Discusses the new theory and methods of thermoelectric materials design- Combines scientific principles, along with synthesis and fabrication technologies in thermoelectric materials- Presents the design optimization and interface technology for thermoelectric devices- Introduces thermoelectric polymers and organic-inorganic thermoelectric composites Thermoelectric Materials and Devices Copyright Contents 1 General principles of thermoelectric technology 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Thermoelectric effects 1.2.1 Seebeck effect 1.2.2 Peltier effect 1.2.3 Thomson effect 1.2.4 Relations between thermoelectric effects and coefficients 1.3 Theory of thermoelectric power generation and refrigeration 1.3.1 Thermoelectric power generation 1.3.1.1 Efficiency η 1.3.1.2 Output power 1.3.2 Thermoelectric refrigeration 1.3.2.1 Coefficient of performance 1.3.2.2 Maximum depression of temperature ΔTmax 1.3.2.3 Maximum refrigerating capacity Qc,max References 2 Strategies to optimize thermoelectric performance 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Basic theory for transports in thermoelectrics 2.2.1 Band model for carrier transport 2.2.1.1 Nondegenerate limit (EF%3c%3c−kBT) 2.2.1.2 Degenerate limit (EF%3e%3ekBT) 2.2.2 Scattering of carriers 2.2.3 Thermal transport and phonon scattering in solids 2.2.4 β factor as a performance indicator for thermoelectric materials 2.3 Approaches to optimize thermoelectric performance 2.3.1 Band convergence 2.3.2 Electron resonant states 2.3.3 Alloying 2.3.4 Phonon resonant scattering 2.3.5 Liquid-like thermoelectric materials 2.4 Thermoelectricity in nanoscale and nano-thermoelectric materials 2.4.1 Carrier transport in nanoscale 2.4.2 Heat transport in nanoscale 2.4.3 Nanocrystalline and nanocomposite thermoelectric materials References 3 Measurement of thermoelectric properties 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Measurement for bulk materials 3.2.1 Electrical conductivity 3.2.2 Seebeck coefficient 3.2.3 Thermal conductivity 3.2.3.1 Steady-state method 3.2.3.2 Nonsteady-state method 3.3 Measurement for thin films 3.3.1 Measurement of thermal conductivity of thin films 3.3.2 Measurement of electrical resistivity of thin films 3.3.3 Measurement of Seebeck coefficient of thin films 3.3.4 Measurements of electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of nanowires 3.3.5 Measurement of thermal conductivity of nanowires 3.4 Conclusion References 4 Review of inorganic thermoelectric materials 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Bismuth telluride and its solid solutions 4.3 Lead telluride–based compounds: PbX (X=S, Se, and Te) 4.4 Silicon-based thermoelectric materials 4.4.1 Si-Ge alloys 4.4.2 Mg2X (X=Si, Ge, and Sn) 4.4.3 High manganese silicide 4.4.4 β-FeSi2 4.5 Skutterudites and clathrates 4.5.1 Filled skutterudites 4.5.2 Clathrates 4.6 Superionic conductor thermoelectric materials 4.7 Oxide thermoelectric materials 4.8 Others 4.8.1 Half-Heusler (HH) compounds 4.8.2 Diamond-like compounds 4.8.3 SnSe 4.8.4 Zintl phases 4.8.4.1 AB2C2-type Zintl phases 4.8.4.2 A14MPn11-type Zintl phases 4.8.4.3 Zn4Sb3-based materials References 5 Low-dimensional and nanocomposite thermoelectric materials 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Superlattice thermoelectric films 5.2.1 Synthesis of superlattice thermoelectric films 5.2.2 Phonon transport and thermal conductivity in superlattice films 5.2.3 Carrier transport in superlattice structure 5.3 Nanocrystalline thermoelectric films 5.4 Thermoelectric nanowires 5.5 Synthesis of nanopowders 5.6 Nano-grained and nanocomposite thermoelectric materials 5.6.1 Preparation techniques for nanostructured materials 5.6.2 Skutterudite-based nanocomposites 5.6.3 Multiscaling structures in PbTe-based materials 5.7 Summary References 6 Organic thermoelectric materials 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Doping and charge transport in organic semiconductors 6.3 Thermoelectric properties of typical conducting polymers 6.3.1 Polyaniline 6.3.2 P3HT 6.3.3 PEDOT 6.3.3.1 PEDOT:PSS 6.3.3.2 Small-sized anion-doped PEDOT 6.3.4 Other organic thermoelectric materials 6.3.4.1 Poly(thiophene) derivatives 6.3.4.2 Donor-acceptor type polymers 6.3.4.3 Metal-organic complex 6.4 Polymer-based thermoelectric composites 6.4.1 Interface-induced ordering of molecular chain arrangement 6.4.2 Interfacial scattering to phonons and electrons 6.4.3 Organic/inorganic nanointercalated superlattice 6.4.4 Charge transfer by the junctions 6.5 Summary References 7 Design and fabrication of thermoelectric devices 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Structures of thermoelectric devices 7.3 Fabrication and evaluation technologies of thermoelectric devices 7.3.1 Manufacturing process 7.3.2 Electrodes and interfacial engineering 7.3.3 Measurement of electrical and thermal contact resistances 7.3.4 Evaluation of conversion efficiency and output power 7.3.5 Harman method 7.4 Modeling and structure design of thermoelectric devices 7.4.1 Modeling approaches 7.4.1.1 Global energy balance model 7.4.1.2 One-dimensional local energy balance model 7.4.1.3 Electrical analogy method 7.4.1.4 Three-dimensional finite element method 7.4.2 Examples of module design by three-dimensional finite element method 7.5 Thermoelectric microdevices 7.6 Device service behavior 7.7 Summary References Index