Collaborative Research: Novel Boron-based One-Dimensional Nanostructures: Synthesis and Measurement of Transport Properties

热电技术代表了热能和电能之间的直接能量转换，是一种全固态、环保的技术。目前热电能量转换的效率较低，仅为其他广泛应用的能量转换技术的三分之一左右。纳米线是一种很有前途的材料，它可以提高热电能量转换效率，与其他能量转换技术相媲美，可以彻底改变能量转换行业。这项提议的目的是创造新的硼基（即硼和硼化物）纳米线，它具有独特的结构，有利于热电能量转换。我们将一个成功的悬浮式微加热器装置与独特的低温四探针扫描隧道显微镜相结合，实验测量合成硼基纳米线的热电能量转换性能，以了解材料的基本行为及其热电能量转换潜力。该项目的成功将产生一类新的高性能热电发电材料，这在便携式电源、废热回收和预防全球变暖危机方面具有广泛的意义。该项目将促进北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校（UNC Charlotte）、范德比尔特大学（VU）和橡树岭国家实验室（ORNL）之间的密切合作，形成一个高度跨学科的团队，在材料科学、热物理性质测量和超显微镜方面具有协同的专业知识。这个研究项目的真正跨学科性质将有助于实现研究生、本科生和少数民族学生的跨学科培训。pi将通过演示热电能量转换和解释热电能量转换的基本思想，努力将研究影响扩展到K-12学生。

Thermoelectrics represents direct energy conversion between thermal and electrical energy, which is an all solid state, environmentally benign technology. Currently thermoelectric energy conversion suffers from low efficiency, which is only about one third of other widely used energy conversion technologies. Nanowires are one promising class of materials that can enhance the thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency to be comparable to other energy conversion technologies, which can revolutionize the energy conversion industry. The objective of this proposal is to create novel boron-based (i.e., boron and boride) nanowires, which have unique structures in favor of thermoelectric energy conversion. We will integrate a proved-successful suspended microheater device with a unique cryogenic four-probe scanning tunneling microscope to experimentally measure the thermoelectric energy conversion performance of the as-synthesized boron-based nanowires to understand the fundamental materials behaviors and their potentials for thermoelectric energy conversion. The success of this project will produce a new class of high performance materials for thermoelectric power generation, which has extensive implications in portable power supplies, waste heat recovery, and prevention of global warming crisis. The project will promote close collaborations among the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte), Vanderbilt University (VU) and Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) to form a highly interdisciplinary team with synergetic expertise in materials science, thermophysical property measurement, and ultra-microscopy. The truly interdisciplinary nature of this research program will help to achieve interdisciplinary training of graduate, undergraduate, and minority students. The PIs will make the efforts of extending the research impact to K-12 students by demonstrating thermoelectric energy conversion and explaining the basic idea of thermoelectric energy conversion.