Feb

21

Progress on the Thermoelectric Front

February 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

Researchers from Boston College, MIT, Clemson University and the University of Virginia have used a nanotechnology processing technology to achieve a 60 to 90 percent increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit of p-type half-Heusler, a common bulk semiconductor compound. The team’s paper has been published in the journal Nano Letters. Half-Heusler compounds and the […]

Jan

26

Simple & Common Materials For Record Breaking Thermoelectric

January 26, 2011 | 1 Comment

Northwestern University researchers have placed nanocrystals of rock salt into lead telluride, creating a thermoelectric material that can harness electricity from heat sources. The material exhibits a high thermoelectric figure of merit that is expected to enable 14 percent of heat waste converted to electricity, a new scientific record.  Chemists, physicists and material scientists at […]

Jan

21

Skutterudites Boost Thermoelectric Output

January 21, 2011 | 8 Comments

Researchers at the University of Michigan are taking a step towards more efficient recycling of waste heat into energy by using skutterudites in their new thermoelectric device experiments. The UM press release explains with an offering from Massoud Kaviany, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, “Today’s state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials are only five percent efficient. […]

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