We demonstrate a thermoelectric nanogenerator (NG) made from a single Sb-doped ZnO micro/nanobelt that generates an output power of about 1.94 nW under a temperature difference of 30 K between the two electrodes. A single Sb-doped ZnO microbelt was bonded at its ends on a glass substrate as a NG, which can give an output voltage of 10 mV and an output current of 194 nA. The single Sb-doped ZnO ...

Irreversible effects in thermoelectric materials limit their efficiency and economy for applications in power generation and refrigeration. While electron transport is unavoidably irreversible in bulk materials, here we derive conditions under which reversible diffusive electron transport can be achieved in nanostructured thermoelectric materials. We provide a fundamental thermodynamic explanat...

   In this manuscript, a solar cavity packed with thermoelectric generator modules is investigated numerically. The hot plate of TEG modules make the inner surface of the cube, and the cold plate is outside of the cavity, under natural convection. The TEG modules are electrically in series. The solution algorithm using the equations of heat transfer and generated power of TEG modules is d...

We demonstrate a modulation of thermoelectric power factor via a radial dopant inhomogeneity in B-doped Si nanowires. These nanowires grown via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method were naturally composed of a heavily doped outer shell layer and a lightly doped inner core. The thermopower measurements for a single nanowire demonstrated that the power factor values were higher than those of homogeneo...

By converting waste heat into electricity through the thermoelectric power of solids without producing greenhouse gas emissions, thermoelectric generators could be an important part of the solution to today’s energy challenge. There has been a resurgence in the search for new materials for advanced thermoelectric energy conversion applications. In this paper, we will review recent efforts on im...

The growing popularity of solid state thermoelectric devices in cooling applications has sparked an increasing diversity of thermoelectric coolers (TECs) on the market, commonly known as “Peltier modules”. They can also be used as generators, converting a temperature difference into electric power, and opportunities are plentiful to make use of these devices as thermoelectric generators (TEGs) ...

OBJECTIVES A nondestructive, rapid, and practical method of dental alloy sorting is desirable. In this study, the hypothesis to be tested is that dental alloys show significantly different and high thermoelectric power values, on the basis of which alloy sorting is possible. METHODS Six silver-colored commercial dental casting alloys are used in this study: two silver alloys, one gold-silver-...

Low-dimensional semiconductors are considered promising candidates for thermoelectric applications with enhanced performance because of a drastic reduction in their thermal conductivity, κl, and possibilities of enhanced power factors. This is also the case for traditionally poor thermoelectric materials such as silicon. This work presents atomistic simulations for the electronic, thermal, and ...

Thermoelectric energy converters are expected to play a signicant role in clean and renewable energy, and to reduce the reliance on fossil fuelled heat engines that generate approximately 90% of the world's electrical power at a typical 30–40% efficiency. The maximum efficiency of thermoelectric materials is determined by the dimensionless gure of merit, zT 1⁄4 STs/(ke + kL), which is a funct...