Related Articles Electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of nanostructured EuTi1−xNbxO3−δ (x=0.00; 0.02) Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 033908 (2012) Electrical and thermoelectric properties of single-wall carbon nanotube doped Bi2Te3 Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 031909 (2012) Transport, thermoelectric, and magnetic properties of a dense Cr2S3 ceramic J. Appl. Phys. 112, 013716 (2012) Origin of n-...

The apparatus for evaluation of the figure of merit (ZT) of thermoelectric devices has been developed. ZT value is comprised of three physical quantities, Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. However, to date, the ZT values of the thermoelectric devices have been evaluated by Harman method due to difficulty in measuring thermal conductivity of the devices with...

Thermoelectric materials are sometimes prepared using a sintering process in which the achievement of a high density is often one of the objectives. However, it has recently been shown that the introduction of a highly porous material is desirable in synthetic transverse thermoelements. Porosity may also be an advantage in conventional longitudinal thermoelectric modules in which a high thermal...

A portable thermal chamber with a volume of only 2.5 l capable of reaching temperatures over the −5C to 70C range was designed and constructed. In order to make the thermal chamber lightweight and portable, two series connected thermoelectric modules were used as actuators since their size and performance characteristics allow the portability and precise temperature control. The PID control pro...

We demonstrate that thermoelectric properties of graphene nanoribbons can be dramatically improved by introducing nanopores. In monolayer graphene, this increases the electronic thermoelectric figure of merit ZT e from 0.01 to 0.5. The largest values of ZT e are found when a nanopore is introduced into bilayer graphene, such that the current flows from one layer to the other via the inner surfa...

Thermoelectric energy conversion is widely recognized as a promising technology both for electric power generation in terms of waste heat recovery and for cooling of various electronic devices [1]. SrTiO3 based perovskites are among a number of candidate materials for such thermoelectric applications [2]. For the first time, we demonstrate the successful synthesis of (1-x)SrTiO3-xLa1/3NbO3 cera...

Flexible n-type tungsten carbide/polylactic acid (WC/PLA) composites were fabricated by additive manufacturing and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The preparation of an n-type polymer-based thermoelectric composite with good stability in air atmosphere via additive manufacturing holds promise for application in flexible thermoelectric devices. For WC/PLA volume ratios varying...

We present switching methods that make thermoelectric refrigerators efficient and optimal for all cold storage applications. These temporal methods double the coefficient of performance (COPs) of the refrigerators during cooling transients and allow highly energy-efficient operation in the steady state by turning off the thermoelectric devices both electrically and thermally so as to avoid back...

A planar ThermoElectric Generator (TEG) containing five thermocouples based on nanostructured metal-oxide elements wired electrically in series and thermally in parallel has been designed and fabricated. The thermoelectric elements consist of ZnO (n-type) and CuO (p-type) bundles of quasi-monodimensional nanowires deposited utilizing shadow masks. The TEG has been experimentally characterized, ...

This work reports on an integrated energy harvesting prototype consisting of dispenser-printed thermoelectric energy harvesting and electrochemical energy storage devices. The use of a commercially available DC-to-DC converter is explored to step-up the mV output voltage of the printed thermoelectric device to several volts for charging printable zinc-based micro-batteries. Two separate paralle...