From concept to device: The Thermoelectrics Journey

Kurzfassung

"Due to recent developments in material sciences and computational capabilities, the field of thermoelectrics, the study of the relationship between heat and charge transport in solid materials, has been undergoing a renaissance with a renewal in the interest of both the scientific community and the industrial sector. Thermoelectrics display a unique ability which allows them to convert heat into usable electricity and vice-versa, through the thermoelectric phenomena, allowing them to be employed in a vast range of applications and temperature ranges, making them a very elegant solution to mitigate the global energy crisis. Nevertheless, some issues still need to be addressed, such as the high cost and toxicity of commercially available thermoelectric devices, and low efficiencies (~5%). Here will be presented some cheaper and more sustainable alternatives to the commercially available thermoelectrics. Passing from close to room temperature applications, where magnesium-based materials are explored for their properties, as well as, novel production routes for a more efficient and easily scaled-up method. To the development of novel thermoelectric materials based on tetrahedrite (Cu12Sb4S13), a naturally abundant mineral that is cheaper and less toxic than the current commercial grade ones, making it a good alternative for middle range temperature applications. Here the doping route is studied for significantly improving the performance, with tetrahedrites dually doped Ni and Se. To finish, some of the challenges in module making with the tetrahedrites and magnesium/silicide-based materials will be discussed. The thermoeletrics journey, from concept to devices will be presented, being demonstrated several examples about the thermal stability, diffusion barriers, device assembly, and computer simulations with this novel and emerging TE materials."