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Doping‐Induced Viscoelasticity in PbTe Thermoelectric Inks for 3D Printing of Power‐Generating Tubes
Author(s) -
Lee Jungsoo,
Choo Seungjun,
Ju Hyejin,
Hong Jaehyung,
Yang Seong Eun,
Kim Fredrick,
Gu Da Hwi,
Jang Jeongin,
Kim Gyeonghun,
Ahn Sangjoon,
Lee Ji Eun,
Kim Sung Youb,
Chae Han Gi,
Son Jae Sung
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.202100190
Subject(s) - materials science , thermoelectric effect , thermoelectric generator , thermoelectric materials , figure of merit , doping , inkwell , waste heat , optoelectronics , mechanical engineering , engineering physics , process engineering , composite material , thermal conductivity , physics , heat exchanger , engineering , thermodynamics
Abstract Thermoelectric (TE) technologies offer promising means to enhance fossil energy efficiencies by generating electricity from waste heat from industrial or automobile exhaust gases. For these applications, thermoelectric modules should be designed from the perspective of system integration for efficient heat transfer, system simplification, and low processing cost. However, typical thermoelectric modules manufactured by traditional processes do not fulfil such requirements, especially for exhaust pipes. Hence, a 3D‐printing method for PbTe thermoelectric materials is reported to design high‐performance power‐generating TE tubes. The electronic doping‐induced surface charges in PbTe particles are shown to significantly improve the viscoelasticities of inks without additives, thereby enabling precise shape and dimension engineering of 3D bulk PbTe with figures of merit of 1.4 for p‐type and 1.2 for n‐type materials. The performance of the power‐generating TE tube fabricated from 3D‐printed PbTe tubes is demonstrated experimentally and computationally as an effective strategy to design system‐adaptive high‐performance thermoelectric generators.