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Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications
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Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Engineering for Energy Harvesting, Conversion, and Storage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 30328

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Norbert M. Nemes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Physics, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: materials physics, in particular, novel thermoelectric materials, synthesis and characterization; solid state physics, in particular, magnetotransport methods and magnetic anisotropy for spintronics, magneto-electric coupling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermoelectric materials may play a crucial in many technologies in the future. The physics and application of thermoelectric (TE) thin films are important current topics of research. The use of novel thermoelectric materials as thin films in applications as diverse as energy harvesting, thermal management and as sensors are gaining importance. This Special Issue on "Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications" is intended to cover original research and critical review articles on recent advances in all aspects of novel thermoelectric materials and their processing in thin films, deposition methods for thermoelectric thin films, characterization techniques of thin film thermoelectrics, all aspects of applications of thermoelectric thin films including mesoscopic and nanoscale thermoelectric devices and the chemistry, physics, materials science, modelling and theory of novel low dimensional thermoelectric materials.

In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Deposition techniques for TE thin film materials;
  • Structural characterization of TE thin films;
  • Characterization methods of TE properties of thin films;
  • Quantum confinement, Phonon drag, 2D materials;
  • Physics and chemistry of novel TE materials for thin films;
  • Theory and modelling of TE thin films;
  • Energy harvesting applications of TE thin films;
  • Integrated cooling devices based on TE thin films;
  • TE thin film sensors and applications;
  • TE nanodevices.

Prof. Dr. Norbert M. Nemes
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3032 KiB  
Article
Thermoelectric Properties of Thin Films of Germanium-Gold Alloy Obtained by Magnetron Sputtering
by Damian Nowak, Marta Turkiewicz and Natalia Solnica
Coatings 2019, 9(2), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9020120 - 15 Feb 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4624
Abstract
In this paper, the electric and thermoelectric properties of thin films of germanium–gold alloy (Ge–Au) are discussed in terms of choosing the optimal deposition process and post-processing conditions to obtain Ge–Au layers with the best thermoelectric parameters. Thin films were fabricated by magnetron [...] Read more.
In this paper, the electric and thermoelectric properties of thin films of germanium–gold alloy (Ge–Au) are discussed in terms of choosing the optimal deposition process and post-processing conditions to obtain Ge–Au layers with the best thermoelectric parameters. Thin films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering using the Ge–Au alloy target onto glass substrates at two various conditions; during one of the sputtering processes, the external substrate bias voltage (Ub = −150 V) was used. After deposition thin films were annealed in the atmosphere of N2 at various temperatures (473, 523 and 573 K) to investigate the influence of annealing temperature on the electric and thermoelectric properties of films. Afterwards, the thermocouples were created by deposition of the NiCrSi/Ag contact pads onto Ge–Au films. In this work, particular attention has been paid to thermoelectric properties of fabricated thin films—the thermoelectric voltage, Seebeck coefficient, power factor PF and dimensionless figure of merit ZT were determined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications)
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10 pages, 4015 KiB  
Article
Thermoelectric Properties and Morphology of Si/SiC Thin-Film Multilayers Grown by Ion Beam Sputtering
by Corson L. Cramer, Casey C. Farnell, Cody C. Farnell, Roy H. Geiss and John D. Williams
Coatings 2018, 8(3), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings8030109 - 19 Mar 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5209
Abstract
Multilayers (MLs) of 31 bi-layers and a 10-nm layer thickness each of Si/SiC were deposited on silicon, quartz and mullite substrates using a high-speed, ion-beam sputter deposition process. The samples deposited on the silicon substrates were used for imaging purposes and structural verification [...] Read more.
Multilayers (MLs) of 31 bi-layers and a 10-nm layer thickness each of Si/SiC were deposited on silicon, quartz and mullite substrates using a high-speed, ion-beam sputter deposition process. The samples deposited on the silicon substrates were used for imaging purposes and structural verification as they did not allow for accurate electrical measurement of the material. The Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity on the mullite and the quartz substrates were reported as a function of temperature and used to compare the film performance. The thermal conductivity measurement was performed for ML samples grown on Si, and an average value of the thermal conductivity was used to find the figure of merit, zT, for all samples tested. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra showed an amorphous nature of the thin films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the film morphology and verify the nature of the crystallinity. The mobility of the multilayer films was measured to be only 0.039 to 1.0 cm2/Vs at room temperature. The samples were tested three times in the temperature range of 300 K to 900 K to document the changes in the films with temperature cycling. The highest Seebeck coefficient is measured for a Si/SiC multilayer system on quartz and mullite substrates and were observed at 870 K to be roughly −2600 μV/K due to a strain-induced redistribution of the states’ effect. The highest figure of merit, zT, calculated for the multilayers in this study was 0.08 at 870 K. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications)
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18 pages, 4782 KiB  
Article
Performance Investigation of an Exhaust Thermoelectric Generator for Military SUV Application
by Rui Quan, Guangyin Liu, Chengji Wang, Wei Zhou, Liang Huang and Yadong Deng
Coatings 2018, 8(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings8010045 - 22 Jan 2018
Cited by 44 | Viewed by 6043
Abstract
To analyze the thermoelectric power generation for sports utility vehicle (SUV) application, a novel thermoelectric generator (TEG) based on low-temperature Bi2Te3 thermoelectric modules (TEMs) and a chaos-shaped brass heat exchanger is constructed. The temperature distribution of the TEG is analyzed [...] Read more.
To analyze the thermoelectric power generation for sports utility vehicle (SUV) application, a novel thermoelectric generator (TEG) based on low-temperature Bi2Te3 thermoelectric modules (TEMs) and a chaos-shaped brass heat exchanger is constructed. The temperature distribution of the TEG is analyzed based on an experimental setup, and the temperature uniformity optimization method is performed by chipping peak off and filling valley is taken to validate the improved output power. An automobile exhaust thermoelectric generator (AETEG) using four TEGs connected thermally in parallel and electrically in series is assembled into a prototype military SUV, its temperature distribution, output voltage, output power, system efficiency, inner resistance, and backpressure is analyzed, and several important influencing factors such as vehicle speed, clamping pressure, engine coolant flow rate, and ambient temperature on its output performance are tested. Experimental results demonstrate that higher vehicle speed, larger clamping pressure, faster engine coolant flow rate and lower ambient temperature can enhance the overall output performance, but the ambient temperature and coolant flow rate are less significant. The maximum output power of AETEG is 646.26 W, the corresponding conversion efficiency is 1.03%, and the increased backpressure changes from 1681 Pa to 1807 Pa when the highest vehicle speed is 125 km/h. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications)
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7 pages, 4908 KiB  
Article
Flexible n-Type Tungsten Carbide/Polylactic Acid Thermoelectric Composites Fabricated by Additive Manufacturing
by Yong Du, Jiageng Chen, Xin Liu, Chun Lu, Jiayue Xu, Biplab Paul and Per Eklund
Coatings 2018, 8(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings8010025 - 4 Jan 2018
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 8260
Abstract
Flexible n-type tungsten carbide/polylactic acid (WC/PLA) composites were fabricated by additive manufacturing and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The preparation of an n-type polymer-based thermoelectric composite with good stability in air atmosphere via additive manufacturing holds promise for application in flexible thermoelectric devices. [...] Read more.
Flexible n-type tungsten carbide/polylactic acid (WC/PLA) composites were fabricated by additive manufacturing and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The preparation of an n-type polymer-based thermoelectric composite with good stability in air atmosphere via additive manufacturing holds promise for application in flexible thermoelectric devices. For WC/PLA volume ratios varying from ~33% to 60%, the electrical conductivity of the composites increased from 10.6 to 42.2 S/cm, while the Seebeck coefficients were in the range −11 to −12.3 μV/K. The thermal conductivities of the composites varied from ~0.2 to ~0.28 W·m−1·K−1 at ~300 K. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications)
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2410 KiB  
Article
Flexible Thermoelectric Composite Films of Polypyrrole Nanotubes Coated Paper
by Jun Li, Yong Du, Runping Jia, Jiayue Xu and Shirley Z. Shen
Coatings 2017, 7(12), 211; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings7120211 - 24 Nov 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4970
Abstract
Flexible thermoelectric composite films of polypyrrole (PPy) nanotubes coated paper were fabricated by an in-situ polymerization procedure using methyl orange as a template and paper as the substrate for the first time. Both the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the polypyrrole nanotubes [...] Read more.
Flexible thermoelectric composite films of polypyrrole (PPy) nanotubes coated paper were fabricated by an in-situ polymerization procedure using methyl orange as a template and paper as the substrate for the first time. Both the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the polypyrrole nanotubes coated paper composite films have been enhanced (from ~0.048 S/cm to ~0.068 S/cm and from ~5.34 μV/K to ~8.21 μV/K for the average value for three measurements, respectively) as the temperature increased from ~300 K to ~370 K, which lead to the same trend of the power factor. The thermal conductivity of the polypyrrole nanotubes coated composite films was very low (~0.1275 W·m−1·K−1 at ~300 K), and a highest ZT (material’s dimensionless figure of merit (S2σT/κ)) value of 3.2 × 10−7 was obtained at ~370 K. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Thin Film Materials for Thermoelectric Applications)
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