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Toward high-performance thermoelectric energy conversion, the electrons and holes must work jointly like two wheels of a cart: if not longitudinally, then transversely. The bipolar effect — the main performance restriction in the traditional longitudinal thermoelectricity, can be manipulated to be a performance enhancer in the transverse thermoelectricity. Here, we demonstrate this idea in semimetal Mg2Pb. At 30 K, a giant transverse thermoelectric power factor as high as 400 μWcm−1K−2 is achieved, a 3 orders-of-magnitude enhancement than the longitudinal configuration. The resultant specific heat pumping power is ~ 1 Wg−1, higher than those of existing techniques at 10~100 K. A large number of semimetals and narrow-gap semiconductors making poor longitudinal thermoelectrics due to severe bipolar effect are thus revived to fill the conspicuous gap of thermoelectric materials for solid-state applications. Heat pumping is in high demand at cryogenic temperature, but whether thermoelectricity can take on cryogenic heat pumping is an open question. Here, the authors answer this question by leveraging bipolar effect to enhance transverse thermoelectricity in semimetal Mg2Pb for cryogenic heat pumping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) films were prepared by using raw P3HT powders with different molecular configurations through solution processing and doped with ferric salt of triflimide anions [Fe(TFSI)], and their thermoelectric (TE) properties were studied. It was found that P3HT with highly regular molecular configuration formed highly ordered chain arrangements in P3HT film (denoted rr-P3HT film), while P3HT with irregular molecular configuration formed random chain arrangements in P3HT film (denoted ra-P3HT film). The ordered chain arrangement in rr-P3HT not only improved the charge carrier mobility but also contributed to produce more carriers, thereby remarkably improving the electrical conductivity. The electrical conductivity of rr-P3HT film was up to 96.1 S/cm, more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of ra-P3HT film. Consequently, the power factor of rr-P3HT film reached 17.10 μW/(m K), about one order of magnitude higher than that of ra-P3HT film and among the best values for pure P3HT TE materials. This study suggests that P3HT with highly regular configuration contributes to form highly ordered molecular chain arrangements, resulting in improved TE properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International transport property-measurement round-robins have been conducted by the thermoelectric annex under the International Energy Agency (IEA) Implementing Agreement on Advanced Materials for Transportation (AMT). Two previous round-robins used commercially available bismuth telluride as the test material, with the objectives of understanding measurement issues and developing standard testing procedures. This round-robin extended the measurement temperature range to 773 K. It was designed to meet the increasing demands for reliable transport data for thermoelectric materials used for power-generation applications. Eleven laboratories from six IEA-AMT member countries participated in the study. A half-Heusler ( n-type) material prepared by GMZ Energy was selected for the round-robin. The measured transport properties had a narrower distribution of uncertainty than previous round-robin results. The study intentionally included multiple testing methods and instrument types. Over the full temperature range, the measurement discrepancies for the figure of merit, ZT, in this round-robin were ±11.5 to ±16.4% from the averages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For bulk thermoelectrics, improvement of the figure of merit ZT to above 2 from the current values of 1.0 to 1.5 would enhance their competitiveness with alternative technologies. In recent years, the most significant improvements in ZT have mainly been due to successful reduction of thermal conductivity. However, thermal conductivity is difficult to measure directly at high temperatures. Combined measurements of thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and mass density are a widely used alternative to direct measurement of thermal conductivity. In this work, thermal conductivity is shown to be the factor in the calculation of ZT with the greatest measurement uncertainty. The International Energy Agency (IEA) group, under the implementing agreement for Advanced Materials for Transportation (AMT), has conducted two international round-robins since 2009. This paper, part II of our report on the international round-robin testing of transport properties of bulk bismuth telluride, focuses on thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and thermal conductivity measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermoelectric joint composed of p-type BiSbTe (BiSbTe) material and an antimony (Sb) interlayer was fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The reliability of the thermoelectric joints was investigated using electron probe microanalysis for samples with different accelerated isothermal aging time. After aging for 30 days at 300°C in vacuum, the thickness of the diffusion layer at the BiSbTe/Sb interface was about 30 μm, and SbTe was identified to be the major interfacial compound by element analysis. The contact resistivity was 3 × 10 ohm cm before aging and increased to 8.5 × 10 ohm cm after aging for 30 days at 300°C, an increase associated with the thickness of the interfacial compound. This contact resistivity is very small compared with that of samples with solder alloys as the interlayer. In addition, we have also investigated the interface behavior of Sb layers integrated with n-type BiSeTe (BiSeTe) material, and obtained similar results as for the p-type semiconductor. The present study suggests that Sb may be useful as a new interlayer material for bismuth telluride-based power generation devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research and development of high-temperature thermoelectric materials has demonstrated great potential for converting automobile exhaust heat directly into electricity. Thermoelectrics based on classic bismuth telluride have also started to impact the automotive industry by enhancing air-conditioning efficiency and integrated cabin climate control. In addition to engineering challenges of making reliable and efficient devices to withstand thermal and mechanical cycling, the remaining issues in thermoelectric power generation and refrigeration are mostly materials related. The dimensionless figure of merit, ZT, still needs to be improved from the current value of 1.0 to 1.5 to above 2.0 to be competitive with other alternative technologies. In the meantime, the thermoelectric community could greatly benefit from the development of international test standards, improved test methods, and better characterization tools. Internationally, thermoelectrics have been recognized by many countries as a key component for improving energy efficiency. The International Energy Agency (IEA) group under the Implementing Agreement for Advanced Materials for Transportation (AMT) identified thermoelectric materials as an important area in 2009. This paper is part I of the international round-robin testing of transport properties of bulk thermoelectrics. The main foci in part I are the measurement of two electronic transport properties: Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-step method has been used to fabricate nano-particles of layer-structured bismuth chalcogenide compounds, including BiTe, BiSe, and BiSeTe, through a nano-scaled top-down route. In the first step, lithium (Li) atoms are intercalated between the van der Waals bonded quintuple layers of bismuth chalcogenide compounds by controllable electrochemical process inside self-designed lithium ion batteries. And in the second step, the Li intercalated bismuth chalcogenides are subsequently exposed to ethanol, in which process the intercalated Li atoms would explode like atom-scaled bombs to exfoliate original microscaled powder into nano-scaled particles with size around 10 nm. The influence of lithium intercalation speed and amount to three types of bismuth chalcogenide compounds are compared and the optimized intercalation conditions are explored. As to maintain the phase purity of the final nano-particle product, the intercalation lithium amount should be well controlled in Se contained bismuth chalcogenide compounds. Besides, compared with binary bismuth chalcogenide compound, lower lithium intercalation speed should be applied in ternary bismuth chalcogenide compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low weighted carrier mobility has long been considered to be the key challenge for improvement of thermoelectric (TE) performance in BiTeI. The Rashba-effect-induced two-dimensional density of states in this bulk semiconductor is beneficial for thermopower enhancement, which makes it a prospective compound for TE applications. In this report, we show that intercalation of minor Cu-dopants can substantially alter the equilibria of defect reactions, selectively mediate the donor-acceptor compensation, and tune the defect concentration in the carrier conductive network. Consequently, the potential fluctuations responsible for electron scattering are reduced and the carrier mobility in BiTeI can be enhanced by a factor of two to three between 10 K and 300 K. The carrier concentration can also be optimized by tuning the Te/I composition ratio, leading to higher thermopower in this Rashba system. Cu-intercalation in BiTeI gives rise to higher power factor, slightly lower lattice thermal conductivity, and consequently improved figure of merit. Compared with pristine BiTe0.98I1.02, the TE performance in Cu0.05BiTeI reveals a 150% and 20% enhancement at 300 and 520 K, respectively. These results demonstrate that defect equilibria mediated by selective doping in complex TE and energy materials could be an effective approach to carrier mobility and performance optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]