Relationship between thermoelectric figure of merit and energy conversion efficiency
- Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5002,
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139,
- Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5002,, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
Significance Thermoelectric materials generate electricity from temperature gradients. The dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = S 2 ρ −1 κ −1 T , is calculated from the Seebeck coefficient ( S ), electrical resistivity ( ρ ), and thermal conductivity ( κ ). The calculated efficiency based on ZT using the conventional formula is not reliable in some cases due to the assumption of temperature-independent S , ρ , and κ . We established a new efficiency formula by introducing an engineering figure of merit ( ZT ) eng and an engineering power factor ( PF ) eng to predict reliably and accurately the efficiency of materials at a large temperature difference between the hot and cold sides, unlike the conventional ZT and PF providing performance only at specific temperatures. These new formulas will profoundly impact the search for new thermoelectric materials.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Univ. of Houston, TX (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-13ER46917; SC0010831; SC0001299
- OSTI ID:
- 1235148
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1371004
- Journal Information:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 112 Journal Issue: 27; ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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