Article
Thermodynamics
Miguel Angel Olivares-Robles, Carlos Alberto Badillo-Ruiz, Pablo Eduardo Ruiz-Ortega
Summary: This study investigates the efficiency of segmented thermoelectric microgenerators (mu STEGs). The thermoelectric properties of nanostructured materials are determined from experimental data. The impact of internal resistance on the efficiency surfaces of the mu STEGs is studied. Results show that different mu STEGs can reach a common efficiency under different working conditions due to material segmentation and geometric shape factors.
ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Katir Ziouche, Ibrahim Bel-Hadj, Zahia Bougrioua
Summary: This paper discusses the optimization of electrical and thermoelectrical properties of nanostructured polysilicon material for use in thermoelectric devices. The nanostructured porous polysilicon (POpSi) thin film is shown to significantly reduce thermal conductivity while maintaining Seebeck coefficient, resulting in a substantial improvement in ZT compared to standard polySi layers. The integration of POpSi into planar TE microgenerators leads to a 28% increase in simulated conversion efficiency compared to those using standard polySi layers.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Bin Yang, Shuangming Li, Xin Li, Zhenpeng Liu, Hong Zhong, Xuguang Li, Songke Feng
Summary: The eutectic Te-SnTe composites show enhanced thermoelectric performance, with the addition of Sb element further improving the electrical transport behavior and achieving an ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. This provides a new strategy for exploring high-performance materials in the Te-SnTe eutectic system.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Maxim Shtern, Alexey Sherchenkov, Yury Shtern, Nikolay Borgardt, Maxim Rogachev, Alexey Yakubov, Alexey Babich, Dmitry Pepelyaev, Irina Voloshchuk, Yuliya Zaytseva, Svetlana Pereverzeva, Alexander Gerasimenko, Dmitry Potapov, Denis Murashko
Summary: Bulk nanostructured n-type PbTe and p-type Ge0.96Bi0.04Te were prepared by grinding and spark plasma sintering, and their mechanical properties were investigated. The nanostructured materials showed higher mechanical properties compared to the synthesized materials, and grinding time had a small effect on their properties. The efficiency of the nanostructured materials was 10-14% higher than that of the materials obtained by hot pressing. The thermal stability of the materials was influenced by temperature and time, and protective coatings were necessary for long-term use.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
K. Deva Arun Kumar, Dilip K. Meena, Rapaka S. C. Bose, Ramcharan Meena, Prashantha Murahari, Paolo Mele, K. Ramesh
Summary: The decoupling of electrical and thermal transport routes through the synthesis of semiconductor nanostructure composites is an effective way to increase the efficiency of thermoelectric materials. The systematic increase of Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, along with the optimal reduction of thermal conductivity, was achieved in Sb2Te3/ZnTe nanostructure composites. The improvement in electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient with temperature, as well as the variation in optical bandgap and optimization of thermal conductivity, were observed in the study.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Farheen F. Jaldurgam, Zubair Ahmad, Farid Touati
Summary: This article focuses on recent research directions in studying advanced nanostructured materials for thermoelectric generator applications that are cost-effective and low-toxic. The evaluation of high-performance nanostructured thermoelectric materials from sustainable sources, the discussion of enhancing material properties, and the proposal for future directions are the main highlights of this study.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Youngkyu Hwang, Anupam Sadhu, Sangho Shin, Shin Woei Leow, Ze Zhao, Jingyu Deng, Joshua A. Jackman, Munho Kim, Lydia H. Wong, Nam-Joon Cho
Summary: This study reports the fabrication of a flexible substrate made from pollen, which exhibits high transparency (>92%) and high haze (>84%), with optical properties that are tunable and arise from light-matter interactions with the spiky surface of pollen particles. The pollen substrate, readily obtained from nature and requiring minimal extraction or processing, can be incorporated into optoelectronic applications such as functional perovskite solar cells.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Wei Cao, Ziyu Wang, Ling Miao, Jing Shi, Rui Xiong
Summary: The pressure-induced thermoelectric properties of Pnma SnSe were investigated using first-principles calculations. The results show that pressure can significantly modify the band structure and lattice thermal conductivity of Pnma SnSe, enhancing its electronic transport properties and thermoelectric performance. These findings are important for the design of new thermoelectric materials.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Huan Zhang, Yaqi Zhang, Pengfei Yu, Li-Min Wang, Gong Li
Summary: Vitrification of Tellurium-based chalcogenid semiconductors is explored to enhance thermoelectric properties by maximizing structural disorder. Ga2Te3-SnTe glasses with low thermal conductivity and high Seebeck coefficient can be successfully prepared by spark plasma sintering technique, providing a new option for high-performance thermoelectric materials development.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhuo Liu, Hanlin Cheng, Qiujian Le, Rui Chen, Jianbo Li, Jianyong Ouyang
Summary: Significant improvement in the thermopower and figure of merit of an ionogel is reported through cationic doping. The doped ionogel exhibits higher thermopower, ionic conductivity and thermal conductivity. These ionogels have a high ZT(i) value and show potential for thermoelectric conversion in iTE capacitors.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
I Kosta, Ch Navone, A. Bianchin, E. Garcia-Lecina, H. Grande, H. Ihou Mouko, J. Azpeitia, I Garcia
Summary: Vanadium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized via wet chemistry route and their impact on the thermoelectrical properties of n-type Mg2Si0.888Sn0.1Sb0.012 materials was studied. It was found that composites containing monoclinic VO2 nanoparticles showed a significant enhancement in ZT value compared to the base material. This indicates the strong potential of vanadium dioxide nanoparticles as additives for producing new thermoelectric materials.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Condensed Matter
Arun Raphel, Appu Kumar Singh, P. Vivekanandhan, S. Kumaran
Summary: The study successfully synthesized a high-density nanocrystalline lead-tin-selenium-tellurium high-entropy alloy, achieving excellent thermoelectric performance by reducing lattice thermal conductivity.
PHYSICA B-CONDENSED MATTER
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Chhatrasal Gayner, Luke T. Menezes, Yuriy Natanzon, Yaron Kauffmann, Holger Kleinke, Yaron Amouyal
Summary: Nanostructuring of thermoelectric materials can improve energy conversion performance, but requires a perfect match between the nanoprecipitates' chemistry and crystal structure and those of the matrix. In this study, we synthesized bulk Bi2Te3 from molecular precursors and characterized its structure and chemistry. The resulting n-type Bi2Te3 with Te nanoprecipitates showed enhanced thermoelectric performance and promising figure of merit values.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Farheen F. Jaldurgam, Zubair Ahmad, Farid Touati
Summary: Thermoelectricity is a promising technology for converting heat energy into electricity, with applications in waste heat recovery and solar energy conversion. To commercialize thermoelectric generators on a large scale, stable, easy-to-fabricate nanostructured materials are needed, along with evaluation of different techniques' pros and cons.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Rana Ghannam, Adrien Moll, David Berardan, Loic Coulomb, Antonio Vieira -E-Silva, Benjamin Villeroy, Romain Viennois, Mickael Beaudhuin
Summary: This article reports the effect of nano-structuring and purity on the thermal and thermoelectric properties of alpha-SrSi2. The results show that nanostructured pellets with a grain size of about 200 nm can be obtained using ball milling and spark plasma sintering, which reduces the lattice contribution to the thermal conductivity. The figure of merit ZT is improved to 0.20 around room temperature after nano-structuring. The influence of Sr purity on the thermoelectric properties is also presented.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Oliver Braun, Roman Furrer, Pascal Butti, Kishan Thodkar, Ivan Shorubalko, Ilaria Zardo, Michel Calame, Mickael L. Perrin
Summary: Mapping the thermal transport properties at the nanoscale is crucial for optimizing heat conduction in nanoscale devices. Existing methods for determining thermal conductivity provide average values, neglecting local variations. In this study, we propose a method that combines confocal Raman thermometry with finite-element calculations to spatially assess the thermal conductivity of suspended graphene. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method by obtaining two-dimensional thermal conductivity maps of pristine and irradiated graphene. This approach opens up possibilities for studying the thermal conductivity of other layered materials, which is important for designing nanoscale thermal circuits.
NPJ 2D MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kim Lopez-Guell, Nicolas Forrer, Xavier Cartoixa, Ilaria Zardo, Riccardo Rurali
Summary: Crystal phase engineering can alter phonon transport, and twinning superlattices exhibit two transportation mechanisms depending on interface number and spacing.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Omer Arif, Valentina Zannier, Francesca Rossi, Diego De Matteis, Katharina Kress, Marta De Luca, Ilaria Zardo, Lucia Sorba
Summary: Nanowire geometry offers the possibility of obtaining semiconductor heterostructures that are not achievable in planar systems, allowing for the exploration of new optical transitions and vibrational properties. High-quality superlattice nanowires have shown improved thermoelectric properties and the potential for engineering photonic and phononic properties at the nanoscale.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Paolo Sebastiano Floris, Claudio Melis, Riccardo Rurali
Summary: Organic materials have gained attention in thermoelectric applications due to significant advances in their figure of merit (ZT), with values of 0.42 reported for PEDOT:PSS films treated with dimethyl sulfoxide and 0.25 obtained for PEDOT:Tosylate. This study uses classical molecular dynamics to investigate various PEDOT morphologies, both neutral and doped, and explores the impact of chain length distribution on thermal conductivity. The role of PSS in the bipolaronic state is also discussed, comparing it to the simpler case of Cl- counterion.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Costanza Borghesi, Giacomo Tanzi Marlotti, Enric Canadell, Giacomo Giorgi, Riccardo Rurali
Summary: A density functional theory study was conducted to investigate the electronic structure of nanostructures based on hexagonal layers of LuI3. Both bulk and layered structures demonstrated large and indirect bandgaps. Various nanotubes with different chiralities were generated from these layers. The chirality-dependent nature of the optical gaps was rationalized through band folding arguments. The discovery of metastable armchair LuI3 nanotubes with dimerized iodine chains offers potential for the generation of neutral Lu2NI5N nanotubes with interesting magnetic behavior.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Claudio Cazorla, Massimiliano Stengel, Jorge Iniguez, Riccardo Rurali
Summary: We predict a significant variation in heat conductivity in SrMnO3 thin films near room temperature by applying small electric and/or magnetic fields based on first-principles simulations. This is caused by a phase transition that involves large changes in both magnetization and electric polarization, resulting in a relative heat conductivity variation of about 100%. These findings are attributed to the anharmonic spin-phonon couplings that strongly influence the mean lifetime of phonons.
NPJ COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jooyoung Lee, Hyunji Park, Jieun Hwang, Juran Noh, Choongho Yu
Summary: This work investigates the root cause of failure with Li metal as the ultimate anode when using conventional/composite separators and/or porous anodes. A feasible route of utilizing Li metal is presented. The study reveals that Li(+) flux passing through the conventional separator is not uniform, resulting in preferential Li plating/stripping, and that porous anodes alone are subject to clogging with moderate- or high-loading cathodes. Therefore, the synergy between the separator and anode pair is necessary to deliver delocalized Li+ and uniformly plate Li metal over the large surface areas of the porous anode.
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Anirban Chakraborty, Sophia Ahmed, Patrick Shamberger, Choongho Yu
Summary: Commercial thermal energy storage (TES) systems require reliable thermal performance throughout their lifetime. In this study, it was found that the thermal stability of PCM composites can be degraded by the formation of large crystals during the freezing cycle. However, the use of CMC can retain thermal contacts by forming small PCM crystal networks, stabilizing the thermal conductivity.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Thermodynamics
Kai Xu, Jiali Guo, Grazia Raciti, Alejandro R. Goni, M. Isabel Alonso, Xavier Borrise, Ilaria Zardo, Mariano Campoy-Quiles, Juan Sebastian Reparaz
Summary: We propose a contactless method based on beam-offset frequency-domain thermoreflectance to study in-plane thermal transport. The use of a one-dimensional heat source enhances the sensitivity to in-plane thermal transport and allows for studying materials without the presence of a metallic transducer. We demonstrate the applicability of this method to various materials and show that in-plane heat transport can also be studied on substrates with low thermal diffusivity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nicolas Forrer, Arianna Nigro, Gerard Gadea, Ilaria Zardo
Summary: Nanowires have attracted significant attention as building blocks for functional devices at the nanoscale. In this study, the growth kinetics of silicon and germanium nanowires synthesized by chemical vapor deposition using a vapour-liquid-solid growth method catalyzed by gold were examined. The effects of temperature, partial pressure of the precursor gas, and different carrier gases on the growth rate were analyzed. Optimal conditions for nucleation in the nanowire growth process were identified.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marc Tunica, Paolo Sebastiano Floris, Pol Torres, Riccardo Rurali
Summary: Using all-atom molecular dynamics, we studied the impact of different concentrations and spatial distributions of vacancies on the thermal conductivity of Si nanowires. Despite being less effective than nanovoids in porous Si, vacancies can still reduce the thermal conductivity by over 50% in ultrathin Si nanowires with concentrations below 1%. Furthermore, we argue against the existence of the self-purification mechanism, which proposes that vacancies have no influence on transport phenomena in nanowires.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Daniele Nazzari, Jakob Genser, Masiar Sistani, Maximilian G. Bartmann, Xavier Cartoixa, Riccardo Rurali, Walter M. Weber, Alois Lugstein
Summary: 2D materials provide a rapidly expanding platform for the observation of novel physical phenomena and the realization of cutting-edge optoelectronic devices. In addition to their individual characteristics, 2D materials can be stacked into complex van der Waals heterostructures, greatly expanding their potential. Moreover, strain can be used as a powerful control knob to tune or boost many of their properties, thanks to their excellent stretchability.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Anirban Chakraborty, Juran Noh, Patrick Shamberger, Choongho Yu
Summary: The primary challenge of salt hydrates as PCMs is their high degree of supercooling. This study presents a novel in-operando study to observe the crystallization process of zinc nitrate hexahydrate in real-time using suitable nucleators and a thickener. It is found that the addition of zinc acetate dihydrate as a nucleator and carboxymethyl cellulose as a thickener can significantly improve the thermal energy storage properties of the PCM.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kim Lopez-Guell, Nicolas Forrer, Xavier Cartoixa, Ilaria Zardo, Riccardo Rurali
Summary: Crystal phase engineering allows for the manipulation of phonon transport in periodic nanostructures, such as twinning superlattices. This study focuses on GaAs and InAs twinning superlattices and identifies two distinct transport regimes, one where each interface behaves as an independent scatterer and another where a segment with closely spaced interfaces acts as a metamaterial with its own thermal properties.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Anirban Chakraborty, Juran Noh, Patrick Shamberger, Choongho Yu
Summary: This study investigates the interactions between nucleators and phase change materials (PCM) through in-operando direct visualization. The results show that uniformly distributed small nucleator particles throughout the PCM can improve crystal initiation and enhance ΔT-sup, leading to better thermal energy storage properties.
