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Time-Enhanced Performance of Oxide Thermoelectric Modules Based on a Hybrid p-n Junction.

Authors :
Kanas N
Bjørk R
Wells KH
Schuler R
Einarsrud MA
Pryds N
Wiik K
Source :
ACS omega [ACS Omega] 2020 Dec 28; Vol. 6 (1), pp. 197-205. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Dec 28 (Print Publication: 2021).
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

The present challenge with all-oxide thermoelectric modules is their poor durability at high temperatures caused by the instability of the metal-oxide interfaces at the hot side. This work explains a new module concept based on a hybrid p-n junction, fabricated in one step by spark plasma co-sintering of Ca <subscript>3</subscript> Co <subscript>4- x </subscript> O <subscript>9+δ</subscript> (CCO, p-type) and CaMnO <subscript>3-δ</subscript> /CaMn <subscript>2</subscript> O <subscript>4</subscript> (CMO, n-type). Different module (unicouple) designs were studied to obtain a thorough understanding of the role of the in situ formed hybrid p-n junction of Ca <subscript>3</subscript> CoMnO <subscript>6</subscript> (CCMO, p-type) and Co-oxide rich phases (p-type) at the p-n junction (>700 °C) in the module performance. A time-enhanced performance of the modules attributed to this p-n junction formation was observed due to the unique electrical properties of the hybrid p-n junction being sufficiently conductive at high temperatures (>700 °C) and nonconductive at moderate and low temperatures. The alteration of module design resulted in a variation of the power density from 12.4 (3.1) to 28.9 mW/cm <superscript>2</superscript> (7.2 mW) at Δ T ∼ 650 °C after 2 days of isothermal hold (900 °C hot side). This new concept provides a facile method for the fabrication of easily processable, cheap, and high-performance high-temperature modules.<br />Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.<br /> (© 2020 American Chemical Society.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2470-1343
Volume :
6
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
ACS omega
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
33458472
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.0c04134