Polymer-Derived Silicon Oxycarbide Ceramics as Promising Next-Generation Sustainable Thermoelectrics

We demonstrate the potential of polymer-derived ceramics (PDC) as next-generation sustainable thermoelectrics. Thermoelectric behavior of polymer-derived silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) ceramics (containing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as filler) was studied as a function of measurement temperature. SiOC, sintered at 1300 degrees C exhibited invariant low thermal conductivity (similar to 1.5 W/(m.K)) over 30-600 degrees C, coupled with a small increase in both Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, with increase in measurement temperature (30-150 degrees C). SiOC ceramics containing 1 wt % h-BN showed the highest Seebeck coefficient (-33 mu V/K) for any PDC thus far.