Defect engineering treatment of indium tin oxide significantly enhances the thermoelectric properties of cement-based composites for large-scale energy harvesting. (1st June 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Yuan; Wei, Jian; Zhou, Yuqi; Miao, Zhuang; Guo, Yupeng; Li, Xueting; Zhang, Hao; Huang, Wei
• Is Part Of: Journal of building engineering. Volume 68(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-06-01
• Subjects: Cement-based composites -- Indium tin oxide -- Thermoelectric property -- Defect engineering; Building -- Periodicals; 690.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106082
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-7102

Abstract

Abstract: When this cement-based composite with thermoelectric effect is used in roofs or sidewalks, it can capture heat energy through temperature difference and convert it into electrical energy while achieving cooling effect. We propose for the first time the use of indium tin oxide (ITO) powder with very stable thermoelectric properties, which is incorporated into the cement matrix together with expanded graphite (EG) to impart good thermoelectric properties for large-scale energy harvesting. The addition of ITO makes the conductive network of the cement-based composite more complete and increases the electrical conductivity by 1.43 times. The ITO powder was treated with a defect engineering approach to modulate its oxygen vacancy content and significantly increase the carrier concentration, which further brought about a simultaneous increase in the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, resulting in a 1.60-fold increase in the figure of merit (ZT) value to 1.49 × 10 −5 at 313 K. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: First application of ITO as a thermoelectric component in cement matrix. Improving the thermoelectric properties by changing the oxygen defect content. ITO and EG combination for better thermoelectric properties.