| 1. |
- Demirci, Yunus, et al.
(författare)
-
The Effect of Crystal Mismatch on the Thermoelectric Performance Enhancement of Nano Cu2Se
- 2021
-
Ingår i: FRONTIERS IN MATERIALS. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-8016. ; 7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the past decades, Cu2-x Se compounds have attracted great attention due to the inclusion of non-toxic and abundant elements, besides having a promising thermoelectric (TE) performance. In this work, we investigated the effect of a crystal mismatch of a nanoinclusion phase on the TE properties of Cu2-x Se. Nano-Cu2Se was synthesized using microwave assisted thermolysis, while the p-type skutterudite, Fe3.25Co0.75Sb12 (FeCoSb), compound was synthesized using a chemical alloying route. Nano-Cu2Se, and (nano-Cu2Se)(1-x )(nano-FeCoSb)( x ) composites, where x = 0.05 and 0.1, were prepared via mechanical alloying followed by Spark Plasma Sintering process. Structural properties were evaluated by PXRD and SEM analysis, while the high temperature transport properties were examined via electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity measurements in the temperature range of 300-800 K. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) confirmed a single phase of nano Cu2Se, while the samples with FeCoSb inclusion consist of two phases as Cu2Se and CoSb3. SEM micrographs of all samples show that Cu2Se has randomly oriented grains with different sizes. Cu2Se samples with a FeCoSb inclusion show a rather different structure. In these samples, a rod-shaped FeCoSb phase, with a size varying between 20 and 100 nm, showed an inhomogeneous distribution in the structure and stacked between the Cu2Se layers. Transport data indicate that crystal mismatch between Cu2Se and FeCoSb has a strong effect on the TE transport properties. Electrical conductivity decreases but Seebeck coefficient enhances with nano FeCoSb inclusion. Total thermal conductivity was suppressed by 30% and ZT value enhanced by 15% with 5% nano FeCoSb inclusion at 750 K, likely due to a decrease in the electronic contribution of the thermal conductivity. Structural and transport data show that small amount of nanoinclusion of FeCoSb has a beneficial effect on the TE performance of nano Cu2Se at temperatures below 800 K.
|
|
| 2. |
- Hamawandi, Bejan, PhD, et al.
(författare)
-
Composition Tuning of Nanostructured Binary Copper Selenides through Rapid Chemical Synthesis and their Thermoelectric Property Evaluation
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nanomaterials. - : MDPI. - 2079-4991. ; 10:5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reduced energy consumption and environmentally friendly, abundant constituents are gaining more attention for the synthesis of energy materials. A rapid, highly scalable, and process-temperature-sensitive solution synthesis route is demonstrated for the fabrication of thermoelectric Cu2−xSe. The process relies on readily available precursors and microwave-assisted thermolysis, which is sensitive to reaction conditions; yielding Cu1.8Se at 200 °C and Cu2Se at 250 °C within 6–8 min reaction time. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed crystalline nature of as-made particles with irregular truncated morphology, which exhibit a high phase purity as identified by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) analysis. Temperature-dependent transport properties were characterized via electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal diffusivity measurements. Subsequent to spark plasma sintering, pure Cu1.8Se exhibited highly compacted and oriented grains that were similar in size in comparison to Cu2Se, which led to its high electrical and low thermal conductivity, reaching a very high power-factor (24 µW/K−2cm−1). Density-of-states (DOS) calculations confirm the observed trends in electronic properties of the material, where Cu-deficient phase exhibits metallic character. The TE figure of merit (ZT) was estimated for the materials, demonstrating an unprecedentedly high ZT at 875 K of 2.1 for Cu1.8Se sample, followed by 1.9 for Cu2Se. Synthetic and processing methods presented in this work enable large-scale production of TE materials and components for niche applications.
|
|
| 3. |
- Hamawandi, Bejan, PhD, et al.
(författare)
-
Facile Solution Synthesis, Processing and Characterization of n- and p-Type Binary and Ternary Bi-Sb Tellurides
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Applied Sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-3417. ; 10:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The solution synthesis route as a scalable bottom-up synthetic method possesses significant advantages for synthesizing nanostructured bulk thermoelectric (TE) materials with improved performance. Tuning the composition of the materials directly in the solution, without needing any further processing, is important for adjusting the dominant carrier type. Here, we report a very rapid (2 min) and high yield (>8 g/batch) synthetic method using microwave-assisted heating, for the controlled growth of Bi2-xSbxTe3 (x: 0-2) nanoplatelets. Resultant materials exhibit a high crystallinity and phase purity, as characterized by XRD, and platelet morphology, as revealed by SEM. Surface chemistry of as-made materials showed a mixture of metallic and oxide phases, as evidenced by XPS. Zeta-potential analysis exhibited a systematic change of isoelectric point as a function of the material composition. As-made materials were directly sintered into pellets by using spark plasma sintering process. TE performance of Bi2-xSbxTe3 pellets were studied, where the highest ZT values of 1.04 (at 440 K) for Bi2Te3 and 1.37 (at 523 K) for Sb2Te3 were obtained, as n- and p-type TE materials. The presented microwave-assisted synthesis method is energy effective, a truly scalable and reproducible method, paving the way for large scale production and implementation of towards large-area TE applications.
|
|
| 4. |
- Hamawandi, Bejan, PhD, et al.
(författare)
-
Minute-Made, High-Efficiency Nanostructured Bi2Te3 via High-Throughput Green Solution Chemical Synthesis
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Nanomaterials. - : MDPI. - 2079-4991. ; 11:8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scalable synthetic strategies for high-quality and reproducible thermoelectric (TE) materials is an essential step for advancing the TE technology. We present here very rapid and effective methods for the synthesis of nanostructured bismuth telluride materials with promising TE performance. The methodology is based on an effective volume heating using microwaves, leading to highly crystalline nanostructured powders, in a reaction duration of two minutes. As the solvents, we demonstrate that water with a high dielectric constant is as good a solvent as ethylene glycol (EG) for the synthetic process, providing a greener reaction media. Crystal structure, crystallinity, morphology, microstructure and surface chemistry of these materials were evaluated using XRD, SEM/TEM, XPS and zeta potential characterization techniques. Nanostructured particles with hexagonal platelet morphology were observed in both systems. Surfaces show various degrees of oxidation, and signatures of the precursors used. Thermoelectric transport properties were evaluated using electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity measurements to estimate the TE figure-of-merit, ZT. Low thermal conductivity values were obtained, mainly due to the increased density of boundaries via materials nanostructuring. The estimated ZT values of 0.8-0.9 was reached in the 300-375 K temperature range for the hydrothermally synthesized sample, while 0.9-1 was reached in the 425-525 K temperature range for the polyol (EG) sample. Considering the energy and time efficiency of the synthetic processes developed in this work, these are rather promising ZT values paving the way for a wider impact of these strategic materials with a minimum environmental impact.
|
|
| 5. |
- Oztan, Cagri Y., et al.
(författare)
-
Thermoelectric performance of Cu2Se doped with rapidly synthesized gel-like carbon dots
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Journal of Alloys and Compounds. - : Elsevier BV. - 0925-8388 .- 1873-4669. ; 864
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As an earth-abundant, inexpensive and non-toxic compound, Copper Selenide (Cu2Se) is a frequently investigated material for thermoelectric (TE) conversion applications. In this research, stoichiometric Cu2Se compounds were systematically doped with gel-like Carbon Dots (CDs), that were fabricated using a rapid and straightforward solvothermal method, at weight ratios of 2, 5 and 10%. The resultant ingots were spark plasma sintered and their TE performance was characterized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) were used to correlate the microstructure to the TE properties. Based on these measurements, CD doping strategy on Cu2Se yielded highly compacted, single phase grains with minimal oxidation. Characterization demonstrated a continuous enhancement of TE figure of merit (ZT) to a maximum of 2.1 at the optimum dopant ratio of 2 wt %. This enhancement was mainly due to the energy filtering effect of CD interfaces along the grain boundaries, and phonon scattering which increased the Seebeck coefficient and reduce the thermal conductivity. Doping beyond 2 wt% was recorded to inhibit this improvement. This research paved the path towards broader utilization of rapidly fabricated CDs to enhance TE conversion performance.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
- Yakhshi Tafti, Mohsen, et al.
(författare)
-
Promising bulk nanostructured Cu2Se thermoelectrics via high throughput and rapid chemical synthesis
- 2016
-
Ingår i: RSC ADVANCES. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2046-2069. ; 6:112, s. 111457-111464
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A facile and high yield synthesis route was developed for the fabrication of bulk nanostructured copper selenide (Cu2Se) with high thermoelectric efficiency. Starting from readily available precursor materials and by means of rapid and energy-efficient microwave-assisted thermolysis, nanopowders of Cu2Se were synthesized. Powder samples and compacted pellets have been characterized in detail for their structural, microstructural and transport properties. alpha to beta phase transition of Cu2Se was confirmed using temperature dependent X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry analyses. Scanning electron microscopy analysis reveals the presence of secondary globular nanostructures in the order of 200 nm consisting of <50 nm primary particles. High resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed the highly crystalline nature of the primary particles with irregular truncated morphology. Through a detailed investigation of different parameters in the compaction process, such as applied load, heating rate, and cooling profiles, pellets with preserved nanostructured grains were obtained. An applied load during the controlled cooling profile was demonstrated to have a big impact on the final thermoelectric efficiency of the consolidated pellets. A very high thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) above 2 was obtained at 900 K for SPS-compacted Cu2Se nanopowders in the absence of the applied load during the controlled cooling step. The obtained ZT exceeds the state of the art in the temperature ranges above phase transition, approaching up to 25% improvement at 900 K. The results demonstrate the prominent improvement in ZT attributed both to the low thermal conductivity, as low as 0.38 W m(-1) K-1 at 900 K, and the enhancement in the power factor of nanostructured Cu2Se. The proposed synthesis scheme as well as the consolidation could lead to reliable production of large scale thermoelectric nanopowders for niche applications.
|
|
| 8. |
- Yusuf, Aminu, et al.
(författare)
-
Multi-objective optimization of concentrated Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric hybrid system via non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA II)
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Energy Conversion and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0196-8904 .- 1879-2227. ; 236
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Thermoelectric generators harvest additional electrical power when used in combination with concentrated photovoltaic cells given rise to a hybrid system. Overall cost of the system is high; therefore, the parameters of the system need to be optimized to obtain high output performance. This study determines the output performances of four sets of equations (models) used in the hybrid system, using the performance of recently developed nanostructured thermoelectric materials. Seven parameters of the system were optimized through these models using non-dominated genetic algorithm. Models 1 and 2 have the highest performance chosen by TOPSIS decision-making method. The power output and conversion efficiencies of the hybrid system in models 1 and 2 are 426.5 W, 11.45% and 461.12 W, 10.77%, respectively. Likewise, the highest TOPSIS solution for power output of one TEG module operating in the hybrid system and its corresponding efficiency is obtained in model 4 and are 1.97 W and 0.078%, respectively. This validates the fact that TEG operating in a hybrid system has optimum performance at a point when the load resistance is less than its internal resistance.
|
|
