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Combined theoretical and experimental study of thermoelectric materials

u3004902's picture

u3004902 - Posted on 30 July 2017

Project Description: 

By reversibly converting heat energy to electrical energy, thermoelectric materials can be used in power generation and refrigeration. The energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric material is defined by a dimensionless figure of merit:
ZT=((S^2 σ)/κ)T=((S^2 σ)/(κ_ele+κ_lat ))T
which involves Seebeck coefficient(S), electrical conductivity(σ) and thermal conductivity(κ).
The objectives of the project are: 1. Learn structure, properties, behaviors and mechanisms of thermoelectric materials through experiments and theoretical modeling. 2. Find effective ways to enhance figure of merit.

Researcher name: 
Cui, Juan
Researcher position: 
PhD student
Researcher department: 
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Researcher email: 
u3004902@hku.hk
Research Project Details
Project Duration: 
09/2017 to 08/2021
Project Significance: 
Development of thermoelectric materials in past decades have made it applicable in reality. However the extremely low figure of merit (ZT<1) limits their further application. They are supposed to be competitive with traditional energy conversion systems only if ZT>=3, which is hard to achieve due to the coupling between S,σandκ.Thermoelectric materials can be used in power generation and refrigeration. They have attracted much attention due to increasing awareness of energy crisis and environment protection these years. Thus, improving ZT value is important to development of thermoelectric materials, and also important to environment protection.
Remarks: 
Since the design of thermoelectric materials involves several aspects, lots of attempts are required. Theoretical modeling is fundamental in design of thermoelectric materials and can save much time. Compared with experiments, theoretical modeling can control native defects more effectively.