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Thermal‐to‐Electrical Energy Conversion Cell with Sol–Gel‐Derived TiSn‐Organic Composite Operated without Temperature Difference
Author(s) -
Fukuda Takeshi,
Takahira Kazuya,
Masuzawa Sosuke,
Shirai Sota
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201800084
Subject(s) - composite number , materials science , sintering , current density , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , current (fluid) , electrode , infrared , thermal , thermal energy , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , analytical chemistry (journal) , composite material , optics , chemistry , organic chemistry , electrical engineering , physics , engineering , quantum mechanics , meteorology
The authors demonstrate thermally stimulated current densities exceeding 130 µAcm −2 at an operation temperature of 60 °C, from a TiSn‐organic composite layer sandwiched between Al and Cu electrodes. This phenomenon does not require a temperature difference for operation. Moreover, the device structure is simple. These unique characteristics will be useful for applications in practical energy‐harvesting devices in the near future. By optimizing the sintering temperature of the sol–gel process used for synthesizing the TiSn‐organic composite, the authors find that the highest current density could be achieved at 300 °C. The X‐ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that the interaction between Sn and the acetyl group caused efficient thermally stimulated current generation. Sintering at temperatures above 450 °C removes the acetyl group from the TiSn‐organic composite, which grades the thermal‐to‐electrical conversion characteristics. The important result of this research is that thermally stimulated current with high current density can be obtained using a TiSn‐organic composite.