Open AccessPhotonic Curing Enables Ultrarapid Processing of Highly Conducting β-Cu2−δSe Printed Thermoelectric Films in Less Than 10 ms
Author(s) -
Md. Mofasser Mallick,
Leonard Franke,
Andres Georg Rösch,
Holger Geßwein,
Yolita M. Eggeler,
Uli Lemmer
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.2c00412
Subject(s) - materials science , curing (chemistry) , thermoelectric materials , inkwell , electrical resistivity and conductivity , thermoelectric effect , optoelectronics , printed electronics , sintering , conductivity , screen printing , electronics , nanotechnology , photonics , uv curing , composite material , thermal conductivity , electrical engineering , chemistry , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
It has been a challenge to obtain high electrical conductivity in inorganic printed thermoelectric (TE) films due to their high interfacial resistance. In this work, we report a facile synthesis process of Cu-Se-based printable ink for screen printing. A highly conducting TE β-Cu 2-δ Se phase forms in the screen-printed Cu-Se-based film through ≤10 ms sintering using photonic-curing technology, minimizing the interfacial resistance. This enables overcoming the major challenges associated with printed thermoelectrics: (a) to obtain the desired phase, (b) to attain high electrical conductivity, and (c) to obtain flexibility. Furthermore, the photonic-curing process reduces the synthesis time of the TE β-Cu 2-δ Se film from several days to a few milliseconds. The sintered film exhibits a remarkably high electrical conductivity of ∼3710 S cm -1 with a TE power factor of ∼100 μW m -1 K -2 . The fast processing and high conductivity of the film could also be potentially useful for different printed electronics applications.