• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.682-683
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• 2006

Thermoelectric conversion efficiency of thermoelectric elements can be increased by using a structure combining n-type and p-type semiconductors. From the above point of view, attention was directed at ZnO as a candidate n-type semiconductor material and investigations were made. As the result, a dimensionless figure of merit ZT close to 0.28 (1073K) was obtained for specimens produced by the PCS (Pulse Current Sintering) method with addition of specified quantities of $TiO_2$, CoO, and $Al_2O_3$ to ZnO. It was found that the interstitial $TiO_2$ in the ZnO restrains the grain growth and CoO acts onto the bond between grains. The influence of the inclusion of $TiO_2$ and CoO onto the sintering behavior also was investigated.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.560-565
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• 2003

M-doped (M=Al, Ni) ZnO thermoelectric materials were fully densified at low temperatures of 800∼1,000$^{\circ}C$ and their sintering characteristics and microstructural features were investigated. Electron microscopic analysis showed that the addition of NiO promoted tile formation of solid solution and caused actively grain growth. The addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ prevented the evaporation of pure ZnO at grain boundaries and suppressed the grain growth by the formation of secondary phase. In case of the addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ together with NiO, the specimen showed an excellent microstructure and also the SEM-EBSP (Electron Back-scattered Diffraction Pattern) analysis confirmed that it shows a superior grain boundary distribution to the others specimens. These microstructural characteristics induced by the addition of A1$_2$O$_3$ together with NiO may increase the electrical conductivity by the increase in carrier concentration and decrease the thermal conductivity by the phonon scattering effect and, consequently, improve the thermoelectric property.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.208-211
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• 2016

In this study, thermal-treatment-derived variations of the thermoelectric characteristics of ZnO nanofibers (NFs) are examined. NFs that were prepared by electrospinning were transformed into n-type ZnO NFs after they were exposed to thermal heating for 30 min at 550℃. For the ZnO NFs, the Seebeck coefficient decreased from - 132.1 μV/K to - 44.6 μV/K over the heating-time range of 30 min to 120 min, while the electrical conductivity increased from 2.07 × 10^-3 S/m to 0.18 S/m.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.115-115
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• 2002

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.543-549
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• 2003

In order to investigate the thermoelectric properties of $Zn_{k}$ $In_2$$O_{ 3＋k}$ homologous compounds, the samples of $Zn_{k}$ /$In_2$$O_{3＋k}$ / (k = integer between 1 and 9) were prepared by calcining the mixed powders of ZnO and $In_2$$O_3$fellowed by sintering at 1823 K for 2 hours in air, and their electrical conductivities and Seebeck coefficients were measured as a function of temperature in the range of 500 K to 1150 K. X-ray diffraction analysis of the sintered samples clarified that single-phase specimens were obtained for $Zn_{k} /$In_2$$O_{3＋k}$ with k = 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9. Electrical conductivity of the $Zn_{k}$ $In_2$$O_{3＋k}$ / decreased with increasing temperature, and decreased with increasing k for k $\geq$ 3. The Seebeck coefficient was negative at all the temperatures for all compositions, confirming that $Zn_{k}$ $In_2$$O_{3＋k}$ / is an n-type semiconductor. Absolute values of the Seebeck coefficient increased linearly with increasing temperature and increased with increasing k for k $\geq$ 3. The temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient indicated that Z $n_{k}$I $n_2$ $O_{3＋k}$ could be treated as an extrinsic degenerate semiconductor. Figure-of-merits of Z $n_{k}$I $n_2$ $O_{3＋k}$ were evaluated from the measured electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, and the reported thermal conductivity. Z $n_{7}$ I $n_2$ $O_{10}$ has the largest figure-of-merit over all the temperatures, and its highest value was $1.5{\times}$10$^{-4}$ $K^{-1}$ at 1145 K.5 K.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2021

The SnSe single crystal shows an outstanding figure of merit (ZT) of 2.6 at 973 K; thus, it is considered to be a promising thermoelectric material. However, the mass production of SnSe single crystals is difficult, and their mechanical properties are poor. Alternatively, we can use polycrystalline SnSe powder, which has better mechanical properties. In this study, surface modification by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is chosen to increase the ZT value of SnSe polycrystalline powder. SnSe powder is ground by a ball mill. An ALD coating process using a rotary-type reactor is adopted. ZnO thin films are grown by 100 ALD cycles using diethylzinc and H₂O as precursors at 100℃. ALD is performed at rotation speeds of 30, 40, 50, and 60 rpm to examine the effects of rotation speed on the thin film characteristics. The physical and chemical properties of ALD-coated SnSe powders are characterized by scanning and tunneling electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The results reveal that a smooth oxygen-rich ZnO layer is grown on SnSe at a rotation speed of 30 rpm. This result can be applied for the uniform coating of a ZnO layer on various powder materials.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2008

Thermoelectric properties of calcium cobalt layer structure oxide system, $Ca_3Co_2O_6$ and $Ca_3Co_4O_9$ were investigated at the temperature range of 300 to 1000K for the application of thermoelectric generation. In the composition, the Ca site was partially substituted with Bi, Sr, La, K and the Co site was partially substituted with Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn. The thermoelectric properties of Bi substituted $Ca_3Co_4O_9$. $Ca_{2.7}Bi_{0.3}Co_4O_9$ for electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and power factor were $85.4({\Omega}$cm)^{-l}, $176.2{\mu}V/K$ and $265.2{\mu}W/K^m$, respectively. The unit thermoelectric couple was fabricated with the p-type of $Ca_{2.7}Bi_{0.3}Co_4O_9$ and n-type ($Zn_{0.98}Al_{0.02}$)O thermoelectrics whose figure-of-merit(Z) were $0.87{\times}10^{-4}/K$ and $0.41{\times}10^4/K$, respectively. The generated thermoelectric power was about 30mV at the temperature difference of 120K in the unit thermoelectric couple.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.27-27
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.216-216
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.08a
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• pp.56.4-56
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• 1998