Title: Flexible Thermoelectric Devices of Ultrahigh Power Factor by Scalable Printing and Interface Engineering

Abstract

Abstract Printing is a versatile method to transform semiconducting nanoparticle inks into functional and flexible devices. In particular, thermoelectric nanoparticles are attractive building blocks to fabricate flexible devices for energy harvesting and cooling applications. However, the performance of printed devices are plagued by poor interfacial connections between nanoparticles and resulting low carrier mobility. While many rigid bulk materials have shown a thermoelectric figure of merit ZT greater than unity, it is an exacting challenge to develop flexible materials with ZT near unity. Here, a scalable screen‐printing method to fabricate high‐performance and flexible thermoelectric devices is reported. A tellurium‐based nanosolder approach is employed to bridge the interfaces between the BiSbTe particles during the postprinting sintering process. The printed BiSbTe flexible films demonstrate an ultrahigh room‐temperature power factor of 3 mW m ⁻¹ K ⁻² and ZT about 1, significantly higher than the best reported values for flexible films. A fully printed thermoelectric generator produces a high power density of 18.8 mW cm ⁻² achievable with a small temperature gradient of 80 °C. This screen‐printing method, which directly transforms thermoelectric nanoparticles into high‐performance and flexible devices, presents a significant leap to make thermoelectrics a commercially viable technology for a broad range ofmore » energy harvesting and cooling applications.« less

Authors:

Varghese, Tony ^[1]; Dun, Chaochao ^[2]; Kempf, Nicholas ^[2]; Saeidi‐Javash, Mortaza ^[2]; Karthik, Chinnathambi ^[1]; Richardson, Joseph ^[3]; Hollar, Courtney ^[4]; Estrada, David ^[1]; Zhang, Yanliang  ^[2]

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Zhang, Yanliang"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-7423-8001"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Boise State Univ., ID (United States). Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering
2. Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States). Dept. of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
3. Boise State Univ., ID (United States). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
4. Boise State Univ., ID (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

Publication Date:

Thu Nov 14 00:00:00 EST 2019

Research Org.:

Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States); University of Notre Dame, IN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP); USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1801284

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1592207

Grant/Contract Number:  

NE0008712; NE0008812; DE‐NE0008712; DE‐NE0008812

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Advanced Functional Materials

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 30; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 1616-301X

Publisher:

Wiley

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; screen printing; nanosolder; interface engineering; flexible thermoelectrics