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Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials-Based Thermoelectrics and Their Applications

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D1: Advanced Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2019) | Viewed by 14291

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Kunihito Koumoto

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Guest Editor

Department of Research, Nagoya Industrial Science Research Institute, Nagoya, Aichi 464-0819, Japan
Interests: low-dimensional materials; inorganic/organic hybrid; flexible thin film device
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Lei Miao

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Guest Editor

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Interests: thermoelectrics and solar thermal conversion materials: synthesis, mechanism and applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A variety of novel inorganic thermoelectric materials have been cultivated in the past 20 years. The research stage is now being transferred to the development of modules and systems, while efforts to further explore new materials are still being extensively made. Since organic TE materials were proposed ~10 years ago, a new aspect of TE applications has developed and has greatly impacted conventional TE researchers as well as newcomers by changing their views on thermoelectrics.

Flexible/wearable thermoelectrics for energy harvesting is now one of the most exciting topics. In order to cultivate a new field of applications, various materials with high TE performance based on low-dimensional structures that are inherently flexible should be developed, such as 2D layered compounds, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC), graphene, vdW heterostructures, carbon nanotubes (CNT), nanosheets (NS), nanowires (NW), their nanohybrid or nanocomposite with/without organic compounds, etc. Nanohybrid or nanocomposite strategies, i.e. combining different low-dimensional materials, is also efficient for exploring high-performance TE materials suitable for mid-temperature (500 K–700 K) applications. In both cases, the materials synthesis and manufacturing processes ought to be cultivated in line with materials development, and moreover, module architecture design and manufacture are also needed to meet the requirements for new applications.

Accordingly, it is timely to present a Special Issue that will collect articles of outstanding research results concerning ‘Low-Dimensional Nanomaterial-Based Thermoelectrics and Their Applications’ to contribute to the future prosperity of humankind. Leading researchers are cordially invited to submit papers, letters, or reviews to the Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Kunihito Koumoto
Prof. Dr. Lei Miao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

thermoelectrics
low-D materials
layered compound
transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC)
carbon nanotube (CNT)
graphene
2D superlattice
heterostructure
nanowire
nanoribbon
nanosheet
inorganic/organic hybrid
nanocomposite
flexible TE device
module design
solution-based processing
low-cost manufacture
novel applications

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 3657 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermoelectric Properties of Reduced Graphene Oxide/Bi₂Te₃ Nanocomposites

by Yong Du, Jia Li, Jiayue Xu and Per Eklund

Energies 2019, 12(12), 2430; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12122430 - 24 Jun 2019

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4027

Abstract

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/Bi₂Te₃ nanocomposite powders with different contents of rGO have been synthesized by a one-step in-situ reductive method. Then, rGO/Bi₂Te₃ nanocomposite bulk materials were fabricated by a hot-pressing process. The effect of rGO contents on the composition, microstructure, TE properties, and carrier transportation of the nanocomposite bulk materials has been investigated. All the composite bulk materials show negative Seebeck coefficient, indicating n-type conduction. The electrical conductivity for all the rGO/Bi₂Te₃ nanocomposite bulk materials decreased with increasing measurement temperature from 25 °C to 300 °C, while the absolute value of Seebeck coefficient first increased and then decreased. As a result, the power factor of the bulk materials first increased and then decreased, and a power factor of 1340 μWm⁻¹K⁻² was achieved for the nanocomposite bulk materials with 0.25 wt% rGO at 150 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials-Based Thermoelectrics and Their Applications)

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Figure 1

Review

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29 pages, 15125 KiB

Open AccessReview

Synergetic Approach for Superior Thermoelectric Performance in PbTe-PbSe-PbS Quaternary Alloys and Composites

by Dianta Ginting, Chan-Chieh Lin and Jong-Soo Rhyee

Energies 2020, 13(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13010072 - 21 Dec 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3241

Abstract

Thermoelectric power generation is an energy conversion technology from heat to electric energy, which can be applied to waste heat power conversion. Among thermoelectric materials (TE), PbTe-PbSe-PbS quaternary alloys and composites are promising candidates for thermoelectric power generation applications in the mid-temperature operating range from 500 to ~850 K. Besides, the thermoelectric performance of quaternary alloys and composites is not fully optimized regarding its composition and synthesis process. In the quaternary system, PbTe-PbSe-PbS, it was found that PbS will form nanoprecipitation in the matrix of quaternary alloy for a small content of PbS (≤0.07), which reduces the lattice thermal conductivity. The power factor of PbTe-PbSe-PbS quaternary alloys can be significantly enhanced by using a band convergence in PbTe_1−xSe_x. The band structure modifications, with the result of simultaneous PbS nanoprecipitation, give rise to a high

Z T

value of 2.3 at 800 K for (PbTe)_0.95−x(PbSe)_x(PbS)_0.05. The chemical potential tuning by effective K-doping (

x

= 0.02) and PbS substitution reveals a high power factor and low thermal conductivity, resulting in a comparatively high

Z T

value of 1.72 at 800 K. The combination of a high Seebeck coefficient and low thermal conductivity results in a very high

Z T

value of 1.52 at 700 K as n-type materials for low Cl-doped (

x

= 0.0005) (PbTe_0.93−xSe_0.07Cl_x)_0.93(PbS)_0.07 composites. Therefore, this review presents the simultaneous emergence of effective chemical potential tuning, band convergence, and nanoprecipitation, giving rise to a significant enhancement of the thermoelectric performance of both

p

- and

n

-type PbTe-PbSe-PbS quaternary alloy and composite TE materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials-Based Thermoelectrics and Their Applications)

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27 pages, 7905 KiB

Open AccessReview

Thermoelectric Properties of Carbon Nanotubes

by Nguyen T. Hung, Ahmad R. T. Nugraha and Riichiro Saito

Energies 2019, 12(23), 4561; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12234561 - 29 Nov 2019

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 6680

Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) material is a class of materials that can convert heat to electrical energy directly in a solid-state-device without any moving parts and that is environmentally friendly. The study and development of TE materials have grown quickly in the past decade. However, their development goes slowly by the lack of cheap TE materials with high Seebeck coefficient and good electrical conductivity. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are particularly attractive as TE materials because of at least three reasons: (1) CNTs possess various band gaps depending on their structure, (2) CNTs represent unique one-dimensional carbon materials which naturally satisfies the conditions of quantum confinement effect to enhance the TE efficiency and (3) CNTs provide us with a platform for developing lightweight and flexible TE devices due to their mechanical properties. The TE power factor is reported to reach 700–1000 μ

W / m K^{2}

for both p-type and n-type CNTs when purified to contain only doped semiconducting CNT species. Therefore, CNTs are promising for a variety of TE applications in which the heat source is unlimited, such as waste heat or solar heat although their figure of merit

Z T

is still modest (0.05 at 300 K). In this paper, we review in detail from the basic concept of TE field to the fundamental TE properties of CNTs, as well as their applications. Furthermore, the strategies are discussed to improve the TE properties of CNTs. Finally, we give our perspectives on the tremendous potential of CNTs-based TE materials and composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials-Based Thermoelectrics and Their Applications)

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