SBIR Phase I: Process scale-up for Manufacturing a New Class of Bulk Nanomaterials with High Thermoelectric Figure-of-Merit

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将扩大一种新的制造路线，以获得一类新的高品质因数（ZT）热电纳米材料。 热电材料对于在没有移动部件或使用温室气体的情况下用于加热或冷却系统以及用于从废热发电是有吸引力的，例如，汽车尾气和工厂的污染。 目前使用的热电材料的低效率（通过ZT测量）限制了它们在新兴应用中的使用。最近开发的方法提供了一种通过化学掺杂和纳米结构化的组合获得具有25%更高ZT的p型和n型的块状热电纳米材料的方法。本项目的目标是扩大该方法的规模，以获得千克数量的磷属元素硫属化物与ZT ~ 1。 我们的材料合成和加工规模的努力将由热电性能测量和材料表征指导。在我们的研究中发现的结构-加工-性质相关性将确定在放大过程中保持高ZT所需的合成和加工参数，并将提供进一步增加ZT的线索（例如，至1.5）。扩大的过程将作为扩大热电材料应用范围的基础，用于高效制冷和热量收集。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是释放和利用热电技术的数十亿美元潜力，以改变固态冷却和热量收集。 该项目的研究结果将适用于可用于固态冷却或发电的多种材料系统。 热电材料已经代表了一个价值数十亿美元的产业，但如果转换效率提高两倍，则有可能进入一个更大的市场。 该项目将扩大纳米材料制造技术的规模，旨在创造新的高效固态冷却设备，以取代目前基于环境不友好气体的制冷和空调技术，并利用余热创造高效发电机，显着扩大热电市场，影响全球能源使用并解决全球环境问题。 该项目还将引入一类新的纳米材料，其性能上级目前市场上的纳米材料。该项目预计将在短期内创造至少10-20个工作岗位，并将使纽约州和美国成为热电创新和纳米材料制造的全球领导者。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will scale-up a novel manufacturing route to obtain a new class of high-figure-of-merit (ZT) thermoelectric nanomaterials. Thermoelectrics are attractive for use in heating or cooling systems without moving parts or the use of greenhouse gases, and for generating electricity from waste heat, e.g., from vehicle exhausts and factories. The low efficiency (measured by ZT) of presently used thermoelectric materials limits their use in emerging applications. A recently developed method provides a way for obtaining bulk thermoelectric nanomaterials of both p- and n-type with 25% higher ZT, through a combination of chemical doping and nanostructuring. The objective of this project is to scale up this method to obtain kilogram quantities of pnictogen chalcogenides with ZT ~ 1. Our materials synthesis and processing scale up efforts will be guided by thermoelectric property measurements and materials characterization. The structure-processing-property correlations unearthed during our studies will identify the synthesis and processing parameters needed to retain the high ZT during scale-up, and will provide clues to further increase ZT (e.g., to 1.5). The scaled-up process will serve as a basis for expanding the range of application of thermoelectric materials for applications in high-efficiency refrigeration and heat harvesting. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to unlock and access the multi-billion dollar potential of thermoelectrics for transforming solid-state cooling and heat harvesting. The project findings will be applicable to multiple materials systems that can be used for either solid-state cooling or power generation. Thermoelectric materials already represent a billion-dollar industry, but have the potential to access a market several times larger, if the conversion efficiency is increased by a factor of two. The project will scale-up a nanomaterials manufacturing technology targeted to create new high efficiency solid-state cooling devices that can replace the current refrigeration and air-conditioning technologies based on environmentally unfriendly gases, and create high-efficiency electricity generators from waste heat, significantly expanding the thermoelectric markets and impacting global energy usage and addressing global environmental concerns. This project will also lead to introduction of a new class of nanomaterials with superior properties to those available currently in the marketplace. The project is anticipated to create at least 10-20 jobs in the near-term, and will position New York state and the United States as global leaders in thermoelectrics innovation and nanomaterials manufacturing.