Solid state energy conversion is discussed as a main player for waste heat harvesting, e.g. in the cooling system of combustion engines. For this purpose, thermoelectric materials are of particular interest. Good thermoelectric converter materials require a high Seebeck coefficient a, which expresses the generated thermovoltage per temperature difference. Moreover, a high electrical conductivity s is needed in order to reduce the Joule energy dissipation within the thermoelectric generator. A low thermal conductivity k, with contribution from the electronic and phononic systems, is further required so that the thermal shortcut due to Fourier’s heat conduction is small. Compounds that contain heavier elements such as Bi not only feature relativistic effects in the bonding behavior, but are also quite often good thermoelectric materials with low phonon activity.
Funding:
Current:
“Improved thermoelectric materials for a sustainable society”
Energimyndigheten, PI, 2019-2023
Reviews:
SR1. C. Celania, A.-V. Mudring, Structures, Properties, and Potential Applications of Rare Earth-Noble Metal Tellurides, J. Solid State Chem., 2018, submitted.
SR2. V. Smetana, M. Wilk-Kozubek, A.-V. Mudring, Active-transition-metal tellurides: through crystal structures to physical properties, Cryst. Growh Des., 2018, submitted.
Original, peer-reviewed research publications:
- J. Schaumann, M. Loor, D. Ünal, A.-V. Mudring, S. Heimann, U. Hagemann, S. Schulz, F. Maculewicz, G. Schierning, Improving the zT value of thermoelectrics by nanostructuring: Tuning the nanoparticle morphology of Sb2Te3 by ionic liquids, Dalton Trans. 2017, 46, 656-668. DOI: 10.1039/c6dt04323b. Inside Front Cover.
- S. Heimann, St. Schulz, J. Schaumann, A.-V. Mudring, J. Stoetzel, F. Maculewicz, G. Schierning, Record figure of merit values of highly stoichiometric Sb2Te3 porous bulk synthesized from tailor-made molecular precursors in ionic liquids, J. Mat. Chem. C 2015, 3, 10375-10380. DOI:10.1039/c5tc01248a.
- S. Schulz, S. Heimann, K. Kaiser, W. Assenmacher, T. Brüggemann, B. Mallick, A.-V. Mudring, Solution based synthesis of GeTe octahedra at low temperatures, Inorg. Chem. 2013, 52, 14326-14333. DOI: 10.1021/ic402266j.
- F. Rieger, -V. Mudring: Synthesis, Structure, and Electronic and Physical Properties of Tl2TeS3, the First Characterized Thallium(I) Thiotellurate(IV), Chem. Mater., 2007, 19, 221-228.