Innovations in thermoelectric materials research: Compound agglomeration, testing and preselection.

摘要

Thermoelectric materials have the capacity to convert a temperature differential into electrical power and vice versa. They will represent the next revolution in alternative energies once their efficiencies are enhanced so they can complement other forms of green energies that depend on sources other than a temperature differential.;Progress in materials science depends on the ability to discover new materials to eventually understand them and to finally improve their properties. The work presented here is aimed at dynamizing the screening of materials of thermoelectric interest. The results of this project will enable: theoretical preselection of thermoelectric compounds based on their bandgap and a rapid agglomeration method that does not require melting or sintering. A special interest will be given to Iodine-doped TiSe2 that generated extraordinary results and a new set of equations are proposed to accurately describe the dependence of the power factor and the figure of merit on the intrinsic properties of the materials.