High-performance thermoelectric materials for radioisotope generators and waste heat recovery

热电材料可以将热能直接转化为电能。热电材料坚固、可靠、机械和热稳定，可以在没有监督或维护的情况下运行多年。热电材料可以与放射性同位素结合在一起，为加拿大偏远地区的无线通信和导航提供电力，那里没有其他电力来源。同样的热电材料也可以用来收集废热，并将其转化为电力，用于许多能源密集型行业，如钢铁厂和水泥厂。拟议的研究将集中在开发适用于发电的高性能热电材料。

Thermoelectric materials can convert heat directly into electricity. Thermoelectric materials are robust, reliable, mechanically and thermally stable, and can operate for many years without supervision or maintenance. Thermoelectric materials can be coupled with radioisotopes to produce electricity for wireless communication and navigation in remote areas of Canada, where other sources of electricity are not readily available. The same thermoelectric materials can be also used to capture and convert waste heat into electricity in numerous energy-intense industries, such as steel mills and cement plants. The proposed research will focus on the development of high-performance thermoelectric materials suitable for electricity generation.