• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.54 no.4
• /
• pp.272-277
• /
• 2017

Organic-inorganic hybrid thermoelectric materials have obtained increasing attention because it opens the possibility of enhancing thermoelectric performance by utilizing the low thermal conductivity of organic thermoelectric materials and the high Seebeck coefficient of inorganic thermoelectric materials. Moreover, the organic-inorganic hybrid thermoelectric materials possess numerous advantages, including functional aspects such as flexibility or transparency, low cost raw materials, and simplified fabrication processes, thus, allowing for a wide range of potential applications. In this study, the types and synthesis methods of organic-inorganic thermoelectric hybrid materials were discussed along with the methods used to enhance their thermoelectric properties. As a key factor to maximize the thermoelectric performances of hybrid thermoelectric materials, the nanoengineering to control the nanostructure of the inorganic materials as well as the modification of the organic material structure and doping level are considered, respectively. Meanwhile, the interface between the inorganic and organic phase is also important to develop the hybrid thermoelectric module with excellent reliability and high thermoelectric efficiency in addition to its performance in various electronic devices.

• Journal of the Korean Physical Society
• /
• v.73 no.11
• /
• pp.1760-1763
• /
• 2018

To attain power generation with body heat, the thermal resistance matched design of the thermoelectric generator was the principal factor which was not critical in the case of thermoelectric generator for the waste heat generation. The dimension of thermoelectric legs and the number of thermoelectric leg-pairs dependent output power performances of the thermoelectric generator on the human wrist condition was simulated using 1-dimensional approximated heat flow equations with the temperature dependent material coefficients of the constituent materials and the dimension of the substrate. With the optimum thermoelectric generator design, thermoelectric generator modules were fabricated by using newly developed fabrication processes, which is mass production possible. The electrical properties and the output power characteristics of the fabricated thermoelectric modules were characterized by using a home-made test set-up. The output voltage of the designed thermoelectric generator were a few tens of millivolts and its output power was several hundreds of microwatts under the conditions at the human wrist. The measured output voltage and power of the fabricated thermoelectric generator were slightly lower than those of the designed thermoelectric generator due to several reasons.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.56 no.5
• /
• pp.435-442
• /
• 2019

Thermoelectric is a promising technology that can convert temperature differences to electricity (or vice versa). However, their relatively low efficiencies limit their applications to thermoelectric power generation systems. Therefore, low cost and high performance are important prerequisites for the application of thermoelectric materials to automotive thermoelectric generators. Silicide-based thermoelectric materials are good candidates for such applications. Recently, the thermoelectric performances of silicide-based thermoelectric materials have been significantly improved. However, increasing the thermoelectric performance of the materials while ensuring mechanical reliability remains a challenge. This review summarizes the preparation and design guidelines for silicide-based thermoelectric nanocomposites, as well as our recent progress in the development of nanocomposites with high thermoelectric performances or high mechanical reliabilities.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.152-158
• /
• 2022

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.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
• /
• 2006.09a
• /
• pp.430-431
• /
• 2006

Thermoelectric thick film was fabricated by screen printing process with using p-type Bi-Te-Sb powders. The powder was synthesized by melting, milling and sintering process and hydrogen reduced to enhance the thermoelectric property. The thick film of Bi-Te-Sb powder was fabricated by screen printing method and baked at the optimized conditions. The thermal conductivity, the electrical resistivity and Seeback coefficient of thick film were measured and the thermoelectric performance was analyzed in terms of film characteristics and its microstructure. Finally, the feasibility of thermoelectric thick film into micro cooling device on CPU chip was discussed in this study.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.75-85
• /
• 2017

Thermoelectric is a key technology for energy harvesting and solid-state cooling by direct thermal-to-electric energy conversion (or vice versa); however, the relatively low efficiency has limited thermoelectric systems to niche applications such as space power generation and small-scale or high-density cooling. To expand into larger scale power generation and cooling applications such as ATEG (automotive thermoelectric generators) and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), high-performance bulk thermoelectric materials and their low-cost processing are essential prerequisites. Recently, the performance of commercial thermoelectric materials including $Bi_2Te_3$-, PbTe-, skutterudite-, and half-Heusler-based compounds has been significantly improved through non-equilibrium processing technologies for defect engineering. This review summarizes material design approaches for the formation of multi-dimensional and multi-scale defect structures that can be used to manipulate both the electronic and thermal transport properties, and our recent progress in the synthesis of conventional thermoelectric materials with defect structures is described.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.54 no.6
• /
• pp.518-524
• /
• 2017

A flexible thermoelectric device using body heat has drawn attention as a power source for wearable devices. In this study, thermoelectric thick films were fabricated by cold pressing method using p-type antimony telluride and n-type bismuth telluride powders in accordance with specific loads. Thermoelectric thick films were denser and improved the electrical and thermoelectric properties while increasing the load of the cold pressing. The thickness of the specimen can be controlled by the amount of material; specimens were approximately 700 um in thickness. Flexible thermoelectric devices were manufactured by using the thermoelectric thick films on PI (Polyimide) substrate. The process is cheap, efficient, easy and scalable. Evaluation of power generation performance and flexibility on the fabricated flexible thermoelectric device was carried out. The flexible thermoelectric device has great flexibility and good performance and can be applied to wearable electronics as a power source.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.119-128
• /
• 2022

Recent advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) and energy harvesting technology enable realization of flexible thermoelectric energy harvester (f-TEH), with technological prowess for use in biomedical monitoring system integrated applications. To expand a flexible thermoelectric energy harvesting platform, the f-TEH must be required for optimized flexible thermoelectric materials and device structure. In response to these demands related to thermoelectric energy harvesting, many research groups have investigated various f-TEHs applied as a power source for wearable electronics. As a key member of the f-TEH, film-based f-TEHs possess significant applicability in research to realize self-powered wearable electronics, owing to their excellent flexibility, low thermal conductivity, and convenient fabrication process. Thus, based on the rapid growth of thermoelectric film technology, this review aims to overview comprehensively the f-TEH made of various inorganic/organic thermoelectric materials including developed fabrication methods, high thermoelectric performance, and wide-range applications.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.130-139
• /
• 2023

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 κ (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 100℃. 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.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.12 no.6 s.53
• /
• pp.387-392
• /
• 2005

The p-type semiconductor $Bi_2Te_3-Sb_2Te_3$ thermoelectric materials were fabricated by melting, milling and sintering process and their thermoelectric properties were characterized. The compound materials were ball-milled with milling time and the powders were sintered by spark plasma sintering process. The ball milled powders had equiaxial shape and approedmately $1\~3{\mu}m$ in size. The figure of meritz of sintered thermoelectric materials decreased with milling time because of lowered electrical resistivity. The thermoelectric properties of $Bi_2Te_3-Sb_2Te_3$ materials have been discussed in terms of electrical property with ball mill process.