Silicide Nanopowders as Low-Cost and High-Performance Thermoelectric Materials

Eco-friendly high-performance silicide thermoelectric materials

Silicide-based thermoelectrics are examples of cost-efficient and environmentally friendly new energy materials, which can be used for power-generation applications in the range of 500–800 K. We review the research focusing on the exploration of n-typeMg2IV-based solid solutions (IV= Si, Ge and Sn) and summarize the most prominent discoveries achieved so far in their studies. Owing to their sup...

Strain-assisted, low-temperature synthesis of high-performance thermoelectric materials.

Utilizing internal energy artificially implemented by cold-pressing in the specimens, we demonstrate a way to synthesize high-quality bulk thermoelectric materials at otherwise too low a temperature to approach to an equilibrium state. This low-temperature synthesis technique will provide a new opportunity to integrate high-performance thermoelectric materials into various electronic devices fo...

Group IV Materials for Low Cost and High Performance Bolometers

Synthesis and Characterization of Bi2Se3 Thermoelectric Nanopowders

In order to synthesize Bi2Se3 nanopowders by a solvothermal synthesis method, ethylenediamine, dimethylformamide, acetone, absolute ethanol, and deionized water were respectively used as a solvent, using BiCl3 and elemental Se powders as starting materials and KBH4 as a reductant at 180 C for different times. X-ray diffraction was used for examining the phase composition of the products. The re...

Discovery of high-performance low-cost n-type Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectric materials with multi-valley conduction bands

Widespread application of thermoelectric devices for waste heat recovery requires low-cost high-performance materials. The currently available n-type thermoelectric materials are limited either by their low efficiencies or by being based on expensive, scarce or toxic elements. Here we report a low-cost n-type material, Te-doped Mg3Sb1.5Bi0.5, that exhibits a very high figure of merit zT ranging...