Journal ArticleDOI
Nanoengineering thermoelectrics for 21st century: Energy harvesting and other trends in the field
TLDR
In this paper, a review deals with the novel aspects of nano-structuring of thermoelectric materials, from the so-called 3D nanobulk materials down to the incorporation of 0D quantum dots in thermocyclic structures.Abstract:
In the beginning of the 21st century, the world is facing the major challenge of finding energy sources to satisfy the ever-increasing energy consumption while preserving the environment. In the race to search alternative energy sources, thermoelectric generators are called to play their role in the improvement of the efficiency of the actual energy system by harvesting nowadays wasted heat. This review deals with the novel aspects of nano-structuring of thermoelectric materials, from the so called 3D nanobulk materials down to the incorporation of 0D quantum dots in thermoelectric structures. The improvement in the efficiency of nanoengineering thermoelectrics benefits mainly from the reduction in the thermal conductivity. Other promising trends in thermoelectricity are also reviewed, such as, novel nano-structures, trending materials (polymers, thermionic materials or Zintl phases), spin caloritronics, thermoelectricity in atomic and molecular junctions, or recent developments in theoretical calculations. Finally the review ends with a brief review on recent thermoelectric devices.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Organic Thermoelectric Materials: Emerging Green Energy Materials Converting Heat to Electricity Directly and Efficiently
TL;DR: In this review, thermoelectric properties of conducting polymers and small molecules are summarized, with recent progresses in materials, measurements and devices highlighted.
Journal ArticleDOI
A review on thermoelectric renewable energy: Principle parameters that affect their performance
Mohamed Hamid Elsheikh,Dhafer Abdulameer Shnawah,Mohd Faizul Mohd Sabri,Suhana Mohd Said,Masjuki Haji Hassan,Mohamed Bashir Ali Bashir,Mahazani Mohamad +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, basic knowledge of thermoelectric materials and an overview of parameters that affect the figure of merit ZT are provided, as well as the prospects for the optimization and their applications are also discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI
A review of data center cooling technology, operating conditions and the corresponding low-grade waste heat recovery opportunities
TL;DR: In this article, the most promising methods and technologies for recovering data center low-grade waste heat in an effective and economically reasonable way are identified and discussed, based on a comparison between data centers' operational thermodynamic conditions and the operational requirements of the discussed waste heat recovery techniques, absorption cooling and organic Rankine cycle are found to be among the more promising technologies for data center waste heat reuse.
Journal ArticleDOI
A review of the state of the science on wearable thermoelectric power generators (TEGs) and their existing challenges
TL;DR: In this article, the human body has been considered as a good source of heat to harvest electrical energy through wearable thermoelectric generators, which may become an alternative power generation technique compared to other conventional ones used for many wearable devices.
Journal ArticleDOI
Engineering half-Heusler thermoelectric materials using Zintl chemistry
Wolfgang G. Zeier,Jennifer Schmitt,Geoffroy Hautier,Umut Aydemir,Zachary M. Gibbs,Claudia Felser,G. Jeffrey Snyder +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, the structure, bonding and defects of half-Heusler compounds are explained in terms of the framework of Zintl (or valence-precise) chemistry.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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TL;DR: A new era of complex thermoelectric materials is approaching because of modern synthesis and characterization techniques, particularly for nanoscale materials, and the strategies used to improve the thermopower and reduce the thermal conductivity are reviewed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit
TL;DR: Th thin-film thermoelectric materials are reported that demonstrate a significant enhancement in ZT at 300 K, compared to state-of-the-art bulk Bi2Te3 alloys, and the combination of performance, power density and speed achieved in these materials will lead to diverse technological applications.
Journal ArticleDOI
High-Thermoelectric Performance of Nanostructured Bismuth Antimony Telluride Bulk Alloys
Bed Poudel,Qing Hao,Yi Ma,Yucheng Lan,Austin J. Minnich,Bo Yu,Xiao Yan,Dezhi Wang,Andrew Muto,Daryoosh Vashaee,Xiaoyuan Chen,Jun-Ming Liu,Mildred S. Dresselhaus,Gang Chen,Zhifeng Ren +14 more
TL;DR: Electrical transport measurements, coupled with microstructure studies and modeling, show that the ZT improvement is the result of low thermal conductivity caused by the increased phonon scattering by grain boundaries and defects, which makes these materials useful for cooling and power generation.
Journal Article
High Thermoelectric Performance of Nanostructured Bismuth Antimony Telluride Bulk Alloys.
Bed Poudel,Qing Hao,Yi Ma,Austin J. Minnich,Andrew Muto,Yucheng Lan,Bo Yu,Xiao Yan,Dezhi Wang,Daryoosh Vashaee,X.Y. Chen,Dresselhaus,Gang Chen,Zhifeng Ren +13 more
Journal ArticleDOI
Enhanced thermoelectric performance of rough silicon nanowires
Allon I. Hochbaum,Renkun Chen,Raul Diaz Delgado,Wenjie Liang,Erik C. Garnett,Mark Najarian,Arun Majumdar,Arun Majumdar,Peidong Yang,Peidong Yang +9 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the electrochemical synthesis of large-area, wafer-scale arrays of rough Si nanowires that are 20-300 nm in diameter.