Designing good compatibility factor in segmented Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 – GeTe thermoelectrics for high power conversion efficiency. (1st June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cao, Jing; Tan, Xian Yi; Jia, Ning; Zheng, Jie; Chien, Sheau Wei; Ng, Hong Kuan; Tan, Chee Kiang Ivan; Liu, Hongfei; Zhu, Qiang; Wang, Suxi; Zhang, Gang; Chen, Kewei; Li, Zibiao; Zhang, Lei; Xu, Jianwei; Hu, Lei; Yan, Qingyu; Wu, Jing; Suwardi, Ady
• Is Part Of: Nano energy. Volume 96(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-06-01
• Subjects: Compatibility factor -- Thermoelectric generator -- Power conversion efficiency -- Segmented thermoelectric -- Thermoelectric device -- Energy harvesting; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; Nanoscience; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Power resources -- Technological innovations; Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107147
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2211-2855

Abstract

Abstract: Over the past decade, thermoelectrics have progressed in leaps and bounds led by advancements in their physical understanding and design. Figure of merit zT exceeding 2 have been consistently reported, especially in GeTe, one of the best medium-temperature thermoelectrics. However, its power conversion efficiency is limited due to its low performance at room temperature. In this work, we report the design and exploration of segmented thermoelectric legs by pairing GeTe with the best room temperature thermoelectric Bi0.5 Sb1.5 Te3 to achieve extremely high power conversion efficiency of 13.6% between 280 K and 773 K. The high efficiency is achieved by looking beyond simply combining high zT regions to encompass the thermoelectric compatibility factors between dissimilar materials. Our work opens up an avenue for materials design beyond maximizing zT to achieve technologically significant energy harvesting performance in thermoelectrics. Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: Ultra-high power conversion efficiency of 13.6% between 7 °C and 500 °C. Importance of compatibility factor in thermoelectric device performance. Beyond selecting high zT materials for device applications.