Processing Nanocrystalline Thermoelectric Oxides for High Efficiency Energy Harvesting

这笔赠款为开发制造纳米晶热电氧化物的加工技术提供资金，以实现高效的能源收集；废热可以被捕获并转化为电能。这一工艺将提供一种可行的制造技术，具有既经济又可扩展的潜力。热电氧化物材料将被电纺成纳米纤维，然后通过烧结将其固化成具有纳米晶结构的高密度、高效率的块体热电氧化物。由此产生的颗粒尺寸预计在几十纳米的范围内，这将大大降低材料的热导率，同时提高热电性能因数(即转换效率)。还将对所得到的热电纳米纤维和块体纳米晶氧化物的结构和性能进行详细和系统的表征，以研究热电氧化物的工艺-结构-性能关系。将热能直接转化为电能的热电材料在以环境友好的方式收集能源循环中损失的大量余热方面很有希望。如果研究成功，本研究成果将导致热电氧化物材料具有更高的热电优值系数和转换效率，并将为高效收集废热能量奠定基础。该项目开发的制造技术也可应用于加工其他纳米晶体材料，应用范围广泛。该项目将培养研究生和本科生。它还将通过教师研究经验计划(RET)、高中生暑期实习和小学科学演示，向K-12学校提供外展活动。

This grant provides funding for the development of a processing technique to manufacture nanocrystalline thermoelectric oxides for high efficiency energy harvesting; waste heat can be captured and converted to electricity. This process will provide a viable manufacturing technique that has the potential to be both economical and scalable. Thermo-electric oxide material will be electrospun into nanofibers which will then be consolidated via sintering into high-density high-efficiency bulk thermoelectric oxides with nanocrystalline structure. The resulting grain size is expected to be in the range of tens of nanometers which should substantially reduce the thermal conductivity of the material and at the same time improve the thermoelectric figure-of-merit (i.e conversion efficiency). Detailed and systematic characterization of the resulting structure and properties of thermoelectric nanofibers and bulk nanocrystalline oxides will also be carried out to investigate the processing-structure-property relationship of thermoelectric oxides. Thermoelectric materials that convert heat directly into electricity is promising in harvesting a vast amount of waste heat lost in energy cycle in an environment friendly manner. If successful, the results of this research will lead to thermoelectric oxide materials with improved thermoelectric figure-of-merit and conversion efficiency, and will lay a foundation for high efficiency energy harvesting of waste heat. The manufacturing technique developed in this project can also be applied to process other nanocrystalline materials for a wide range of applications. The project will train graduate and undergraduate students. It will also offer outreach activities to K-12 schools though the Research Experience for Teachers program (RET), summer internship for high school students, and science demos at elementary schools.