Thermoelectric (TE) energy harvesting, which converts available thermal resources into electrical energy, is attracting significant attention, as it facilitates wireless and self-powered electronics. Recently, as demand for portable/wearable electronic devices and sensors increases, organic-inorganic TE films with polymeric matrix are being studied to realize flexible thermoelectric energy harvesters (f-TEHs). Here, we developed flexible organic-inorganic TE films with p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 powder and polymeric matrices such as poly(3,4-eethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). The fabricated TE films with a PEDOT:PSS matrix and 1 wt% of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) exhibited a power factor value of 3.96 μW ‧ m-1 ‧ K-2 which is about 2.8 times higher than that of PVDF-based TE film. We also fabricated f-TEHs using both types of TE films and investigated the TE output performance. The f-TEH made of PEDOT:PSS-based TE films harvested the maximum load voltage of 3.4 mV, with a load current of 17.4 μA, and output power of 15.7 nW at a temperature difference of 25 K, whereas the f-TEH with PVDF-based TE films generated values of 0.6 mV, 3.3 μA, and 0.54 nW. This study will broaden the fields of the research on methods to improve TE efficiency and the development of flexible organic-inorganic TE films and f-TEH.

Thermoelectric materials and devices are energy-harvesting devices that can effectively recycle waste heat into electricity. Thermoelectric power generation is widely used in factories, engines, and even in human bodies as they continuously generate heat. However, thermoelectric elements exhibit poor performance and low energy efficiency; research is being conducted to find new materials or improve the thermoelectric performance of existing materials, that is, by ensuring a high figure-of-merit (zT) value. For increasing zT, higher σ (electrical conductivity) and S (Seebeck coefficient) and a lower к (thermal conductivity) are required. Here, interface engineering by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to increase zT of n-type BiTeSe (BTS) thermoelectric powders. ALD of the BTS powders is performed in a rotary-type ALD reactor, and 40 to 100 ALD cycles of ZnO thin films are conducted at 100oC. The physical and chemical properties and thermoelectric performance of the ALD-coated BTS powders and pellets are characterized. It is revealed that electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity are decoupled, and thus, zT of ALD-coated BTS pellets is increased by more than 60% compared to that of the uncoated BTS pellets. This result can be utilized in a novel method for improving the thermoelectric efficiency in materials processing.

High-temperature and high-pressure post-processing applied to sintered thermoelectric materials can create nanoscale defects, thereby enhancing their thermoelectric performance. Here, we investigate the effect of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) as a post-processing treatment on the thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3.0 compounds sintered via spark plasma sintering. The sample post-processed via HIP maintains its electronic transport properties despite the reduced microstructural texturing. Moreover, lattice thermal conductivity is significantly reduced owing to activated phonon scattering, which can be attributed to the nanoscale defects created during HIP, resulting in an ~18% increase in peak zT value, which reaches ~1.43 at 100oC. This study validates that HIP enhances the thermoelectric performance by controlling the thermal transport without having any detrimental effects on the electronic transport properties of thermoelectric materials.

‘탄소중립’에 대한 관심이 높아짐에 따라 CO2를 농업적으 로 이용하기 위한 시도가 증가하고 있다. 본 실험은 발전소에 서 부산물로 배출되는 CO2를 포집하여 액화·정제 후 시설 엽 채류의 생육 및 생산성 증대를 위한 시비용 CO2로의 활용 가 능성을 평가하기 위해 수행되었다. 경상남도 하동지역의 부추, 취나물, 미나리 농장에 드라이아이스가 공급되었고 각 농 장의 온실 중 하나의 온실은 대조군, 하나의 온실은 CO2 처리 구로 사용되었다. CO2의 시비는 자체 제작한 장치를 사용하 여 드라이아이스에서 승화된 가스를 온실에 공급했다. 부추 온실은 대조군과 CO2 처리에서 온실 내 CO2 농도의 차이가 없었고 두 온실 모두 높은 CO2 농도를 보였다. 반면에 취나물 과 미나리 온실에서는 CO2 시비 처리에서 높은 CO2 농도가 측정되었다. 취나물 및 미나리의 생육은 CO2 시비 처리구에 서 유의성 있게 증가하였으며 수확량도 각각 36%와 25%로 증가하였다. 경제성 분석 결과, 취나물 농가에서는 소득률이 증가하였지만, 부추와 미나리 농가는 감소하는 것으로 나타 났다. 따라서 화력발전소에서 부산물로 발생한 드라이아이스 의 이용은 시설 엽채류의 생산성을 높일 수 있었다

Magnesium-antimonide is a well-known zintl phase thermoelectric material with low band gap energy, earthabundance and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass properties. The nominal composition Mg3.8-xZnxSb2 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.02) was synthesized by controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. To investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were carried out. It should be noted that an additional 16 at. % Mg must be added to the system to compensate for Mg loss during the melting process. This study evaluated the thermoelectric properties of the material in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity from the low to high temperature regime. The results demonstrated that substituting Zn at Mg sites increased electrical conductivity without significantly affecting the Seebeck coefficient. The maximal dimensionless figure of merit achieved was 0.30 for x = 0.01 at 855 K which is 30% greater than the intrinsic value. Electronic flow properties were also evaluated and discussed to explain the carrier transport mechanism involved in the thermoelectric properties of this alloy system.

Thermoelectric materials can reversely convert heat and electricity into each other; therefore, they can be very useful for energy harvesting from heat waste. Among many thermoelectrical materials, SnSe exhibits outstanding thermoelectric performance along the particular direction of a single crystal. However, single-crystal SnSe has poor mechanical properties and thus it is difficult to apply for mass production. Therefore, polycrystalline SnSe materials may be used to replace single-crystal SnSe by overcoming its inferior thermoelectric performance owing to surface oxidation. Considerable efforts are currently focused on enhancing the thermoelectric performance of polycrystalline SnSe. In this study, we briefly review various enhancement methods for SnSe thermoelectric materials, including doping, texturing, and nano-structuring. Finally, we discuss the future prospects of SnSe thermoelectric powder materials.

Zintl phase Mg3Sb2 is a promising thermoelectric material in medium to high temperature range due to its low band gap energy and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass behavior. P-type Mg3Sb2 has conventionally exhibited lower thermoelectric properties compared to its n-type counterparts, which have poor electrical conductivity. To address these problems, a small amount of Sn doping was considered in this alloy system. P-type Mg3Sb2 was synthesized by controlled melting, pulverizing, and subsequent vacuum hot pressing (VHP) method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate phases and microstructure development during the process. Single phase Mg3Sb2 was successfully formed when 16 at.% of Mg was excessively added to the system. Nominal compositions of Mg3.8Sb2-xSnx (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.008) were considered in this study. Thermoelectric properties were evaluated in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. A peak ZT value ≈ 0.32 was found for the specimen Mg3.8Sb1.994Sn0.006 at 873 K, showing an improved ZT value compared to intrinsic one. Transport properties were also evaluated and discussed.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a promising technology for the uniform deposition of thin films. ALD is based on a self-limiting mechanism, which can effectively deposit thin films on the surfaces of powders of various sizes. Numerous studies are underway to improve the performance of thermoelectric materials by forming core-shell structures in which various materials are deposited on the powder surface using ALD. Thermoelectric materials are especially relevant as clean energy storage materials due to their ability to interconvert between thermal and electrical energy by the Seebeck and Peltier effects. Herein, we introduce a surface and interface modification strategy based on ALD to control the performance of thermoelectric materials. We also discuss the properties of the interface between various deposition materials and thermoelectric materials.

Zintl compound Mg3Sb2 is a promising candidate for efficient thermoelectric material due to its small band gap energy and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass behavior. Furthermore, this compound enables fine tuning of carrier concentration via chemical doping for optimizing thermoelectric performance. In this study, nominal compositions of Mg3.8Sb2-xTex (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.03) are synthesized through controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are carried out to investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process. It should be noted that 16 at. % of excessive Mg must be added to the system to compensate for the loss of Mg during melting process. Herein, thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity are evaluated from low to high temperature regimes. The results show that Te substitution at Sb sites effectively tunes the majority carriers from holes to electrons, resulting in a transition from p to n-type. At 873 K, a peak ZT value of 0.27 is found for the specimen Mg3.8Sb1.99Te0.01, indicating an improved ZT value over the intrinsic value.

Nanoparticles of PbTe are prepared via chemical reaction of the equimolar aqueous solutions of Pb(CH3COO)2 and Te at 120°C. The size of the obtained particles is 100 nm after calcination in a hydrogen atmosphere. Dense specimens for the thermoelectric characterization are produced by spark plasma sintering of prepared powders at 400°C to 500°C under 80 MPa for 5 min. The relative densities of the prepared specimens reach approximately 97% and are identified as cubic based on X-ray diffraction analyses. The thermoelectric properties are evaluated between 100°C and 300°C via electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. Compared with PbTe ingot, the reduction of the thermal conductivities by more than 30% is verified via phonon scattering at the grain boundaries, which thus contributes to the increase in the figure of merit.

In this study, we developed a thermoelectric generation system for coastal fishing boats that allows for a high-density arrangement of thermoelectric modules, verified the improvement in performance by conducting comparative analysis between field test results and results from previous studies. The developed thermoelectric generation system was installed in a 3-ton gill-netter to analyze the engine revolutions per minute and energy production per day for each fishing process over a period of 20 days. From the experimental results, the maximum electric energy generated was 207.1 Wh, the minimum was 53.93 Wh and the average electric energy was 129.98 Wh. In accordance with the increasing of the engine r.p.m., the maximum electric production was 183 W at 1,500 r.p.m. It was approximately 80.5% of designed capacity, 227.2 W. Considering the result in the earlier research was 50.7% of designed capacity, 115.8 W. It was improved by 30% compared to the earlier one. The fishing operation was classified as departure, fishing and arrival. From the result on production analysis of electric energy, the composition of energy was 63% in fishing, 19.5% in departure and 17.5% in arrival. The electric energy production per unit hour was 42.8% in arrival, 32.9% in departure and 24.3% in fishing.

In this study, Bi-Sb-Te thermoelectric materials are produced by mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). To examine the influence of the milling atmosphere on the microstructure and thermo-electric (TE) properties, a p-type Bi-Sb-Te composite powder is mechanically alloyed in the presence of argon and air atmospheres. The oxygen content increases to 55% when the powder is milled in the air atmosphere, compared with argon. All grains are similar in size and uniformly, distributed in both atmospheric sintered samples. The Seebeck coefficient is higher, while the electrical conductivity is lower in the MA (Air) sample due to a low carrier concentration compared to the MA (Ar) sintered sample. The maximum figure of merit (ZT) is 0.91 and 0.82 at 350 K for the MA (Ar) and MA (Air) sintered samples, respectively. The slight enhancement in the ZT value is due to the decrease in the oxygen content during the MA (Ar) process. Moreover, the combination of mechanical alloying and SPS process shows a higher hardness and density values for the sintered samples.

In this work, the effects of hydrogen reduction on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties of (GeTe)0.85(AgSbTe2)0.15 (TAGS-85) were studied by a combination of gas atomization and spark plasma sintering. The crystal structure and microstructure of TAGS-85 were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The oxygen content of both powders and bulk samples were found to decrease with increasing reduction temperature. The grain size gradually increased with increasing reduction temperature due to adhesion of fine grains in a temperature range of 350 to 450 °C. The electrical resistivity was found to increase with reduction temperature due to a decrease in carrier concentration. The Seebeck coefficient decreased with increasing reduction temperature and was in good agreement with the carrier concentration and carrier mobility. The maximum power factor, 3.3 × 10−3 W/mK2, was measured for the non-reduction bulk TAGS-85 at 450 °C.