• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.435-438
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• 2005

Single phase $Zn_4Sb_3$ with $98.5\%$ of theoretical density was successfully produced by direct hot pressing of elemental powders containing $1.2 at\%$ excess Zn for compensating the evaporation during the process. Temperature dependences of thermoelectric properties were investigated from 4 K to 300 K. Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity as well as thermoelectric figure of merit showed the discontinuity in variation at 242K, indicating the $\alpha-\beta$, phase transformation. Interestingly, it was found that lattice thermal conductivity by phonons is dominant in total thermal conductivity of $\alpha-\beta$. Therefore, it is expected that thermoelectric properties can be improved by reduction of lattice thermal conductivity inducing lattice scattering centers by doping and solid solution.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.897-900
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• 2005

This paper presents temperature control of aluminum plate using Peltier module. As one of the thermoelectric effect, Peltier effect is heat pumping phenomena by electric energy. So if current is charged to Peltier module, it absorbs heat from low temperature side and emits heat to high temperature side. In this experiment, Peltier module is used to control the temperature of small aluminum plate with heating and cooling ability of Peltier module with current control and fan On/OFF control. And current control of Peltier module was accomplished by PWM method. As a results of experiments, it takes about 125sec to control temperature of aluminium plate between $30^{\circ}C\;and\;70^{\circ}C$ and about 70sec between $40^{\circ}C\;and\;60^{\circ}C$, in ambient temperature $29^{\circ}C$ while operating cooling fan only while cooling duration. Future aim is to realize more rapid temperature control and develop SMHA(special metal hydride actuator) by using Peltier module as a heating and cooling source.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2015

In this paper, we have reported an enhancement in thermoelectric properties of un-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on silicon (001) substrate by annealing treatment. The grown ZnO thin films were annealed in oxygen environment at $500^{\circ}C-800^{\circ}C$, keeping a step of $100^{\circ}C$ for one hour. Room temperature Seekbeck measurements showed that Seebeck coefficient and power factor increased from 222 to $510{\mu}V/K$ and $8.8{\times}10^{-6}$ to $2.6{\times}10^{-4}Wm^{-1}K^{-2}$ as annealing temperature increased from 500 to $800^{\circ}C$ respectively. This observation was related with the improvement of crystal structure of grown films with annealing temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results demonstrated that full width half maximum (FWHM) of ZnO (002) plane decreased and crystalline size increased as the annealing temperature increased. Photoluminescence study revealed that the intensity of band edge emission increased and defect emission decreased as annealing temperature increased because the density of oxygen vacancy related donor defects decreased with annealing temperature. This argument was further justified by the Hall measurements which showed a decreasing trend of carrier concentration with annealing temperature.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.445-449
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• 2021

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 Mg_3.8Sb_2-xTe_x (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 Mg_3.8Sb_1.99Te_0.01, indicating an improved ZT value over the intrinsic value.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2022

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.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.318-323
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• 2023

The thermoelectric effect, which converts waste heat into electricity, holds promise as a renewable energy technology. Recently, bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3)-based alloys are being recognized as important materials for practical applications in the temperature range from room temperature to 500 K. However, conventional sintering processes impose limitations on shape-changeable and tailorable Bi₂Te₃ materials. To overcome these issues, three-dimensional (3D) printing (additive manufacturing) is being adopted. Although some research results have been reported, relatively few studies on 3D printed thermoelectric materials are being carried out. In this study, we utilize extrusion 3D printing to manufacture n-type Bi_1.7Sb_0.3Te₃ (N-BST). The ink is produced without using organic binders, which could negatively influence its thermoelectric properties. Furthermore, we introduce graphene oxide (GO) at the crystal interface to enhance the electrical properties. The formed N-BST composites exhibit significantly improved electrical conductivity and a higher Seebeck coefficient as the GO content increases. Therefore, we propose that the combination of the extrusion 3D printing process (Direct Ink Writing, DIW) and the incorporation of GO into N-BST offers a convenient and effective approach for achieving higher thermoelectric efficiency.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.352-358
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• 2008

The present study focused on the synthesis of a bismuth-antimony-tellurium-based thermoelectric nanopowders using plasma arc discharge process. The chemical composition, phase structure, particle size of the synthesized powders under various synthesis conditions were analyzed using XRF, XRD and SEM. The powders as synthesized were sintered by the plasma activated sintering. The thermoelectric properties of sintered body were analyzed by measuring Seebeck coefficient, specific electric resistivity and thermal conductivity. The chemical composition of the synthesized Bi-Sb-Te-based powders approached that of the raw material with an increasing DC current of the are plasma. The synthesized Bi-Sb-Te-based powder consist of a mixed phase structure of the $Bi_{0.5}Sb_{1.5}Te_{3}$, $Bi_{2}Te_{3}$ and $Sb_{2}Te_{3}$ phases. This powder has homogeneous mixing state of two different particles in an average particle size; about 100nm and about 500nm. The figure of merit of the sintered body of the synthesized 18.75 wt.%Bi-24.68 wt.%Sb-56.57 wt.%Te nanopowder showed higher value than one of the sintered body of the mechanically milled 12.64 wt.%Bi-29.47 wt.%Sb-57.89 wt.%Te powder.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.218-223
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• 2004

P-type $\beta$-FeSi$_2$ with a nominal composition of $Fe_{0.92}Mn_{0.08}Si_2$ powders has been produced by mechanical alloying process. As-milled powders were spray dried and consolidated by atmospheric plasma thermal spraying as a rapid sintering process. As-milled powders were of metastable state and fully transformed to $\beta$-$FeSi_2$ phase by subsequent isothermal annealing. However, as-thermal sprayed $Fe_{0.92}Mn_{0.08}Si_2$ consisted of untransformed mixture of $\alpha$-$Fe_2Si_{5}$ and $\varepsilon$-FeSi phases. Isothermal annealing has been carried out to induce transformation to the thermoelectric semiconducting $\beta$-$FeSi_2$ phase. Isothermal annealing at $845^{\circ}C$ in vacuum gradually led to the thermoelectric semiconducting $\beta$-$FeSi_2$ phase transformation, but some residual metallic $\alpha$ and $\varepsilon$ phases were unavoidable even after prolonged annealing. Thermoelectric properties of $\beta$-$FeSi_2$ materials before and after isothermal annealing were evaluated. Seebeck coefficient increased and electric conductivity decreased with increasing annealing time due to the phase transition from metallic phases to semiconducting phases. Thermoelectric properties showed gradual increment, but overall properties appeared to be inferior to those of vacuum hot pressed specimens.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.280-284
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• 2012

Bismuth antimony telluride (BiSbTe) thermoelectric materials were successfully prepared by a spark plasma sintering process. Crystalline BiSbTe ingots were crushed into small pieces and then attrition milled into fine powders of about 300 nm ~ 2${\mu}m$ size under argon gas. Spark plasma sintering was applied on the BiSbTe powders at 240, 320, and $380^{\circ}C$, respectively, under a pressure of 40 MPa in vacuum. The heating rate was $50^{\circ}C$/min and the holding time at the sintering temperature was 10 min. At all sintering temperatures, high density bulk BiSbTe was successfully obtained. The XRD patterns verify that all samples were well matched with the $Bi_{0.5}Sb_{1.5}Te_{3}$. Seebeck coefficient (S), electric conductivity (${\sigma}$) and thermal conductivity (k) were evaluated in a temperature range of $25{\sim}300^{\circ}C$. The thermoelectric properties of BiSbTe were evaluated by the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT (ZT = $S^2{\sigma}T$/k). The grain size and electric conductivity of sintered BiSbTe increased as the sintering temperature increased but the thermal conductivity was similar at all sintering temperatures. Grain growth reduced the carrier concentration, because grain growth reduced the grain boundaries, which serve as acceptors. Meanwhile, the carrier mobility was greatly increased and the electric conductivity was also improved. Consequentially, the grains grew with increasing sintering temperature and the figure of merit was improved.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 2013

Internal combustion engines typically expel 30%-40% of the energy supplied by fuel to the environment through their exhaust system. Therefore, further significant improvements in the thermal efficiency of IC engines are possible by recovering the waste heat from the engine exhaust gas. With this fact in mind, a numerical simulation was carried out to investigate the potential of using thermoelectric generation with an internal combustion engine for waste heat recovery. Physical parameters such as the exhaust temperature and mass flow rate were evaluated in the exhaust system, and the optimum location for inserting a thermoelectric generator (TEG) into the system was determined. The TEG will be located in the exhaust system and will use the energy flow between the warmer exhaust gas and the external environment. The optimum position of the temperature distribution and the TEG performance were predicted through numerical analysis. The experimental results obtained showed that the power output significantly increases with the temperature difference between the cold and hot sides of the TEG.