Strong and efficient bismuth telluride-based thermoelectrics for Peltier microcoolers

Thermoelectric Peltier coolers (PCs) are being increasingly used as temperature stabilizers for optoelectronic devices. Increasing integration drives PC miniaturization, requiring thermoelectric materials with good strength. We demonstrate a simultaneous gain of thermoelectric and mechanical performance in (Bi, Sb)<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>, and successfully fabricate micro PCs (2 × 2 mm<sup>2</sup> cross-section) that show excellent maximum cooling temperature difference of 89.3 K with a hot-side temperature of 348 K. A multi-step process involving annealing, hot-forging and composition design, is developed to modify the atomic defects and nano- and microstructures. The peak <i>ZT</i> is improved to ∼1.50 at 348 K, and the flexural and compressive strengths are significantly enhanced to ∼140 MPa and ∼224 MPa, respectively. These achievements hold great potential for advancing solid-state refrigeration technology in small spaces.

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Publication Details

Journal
National Science Review
Published
2024-09-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwae329
Citations
25
Primary Topic
Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.93

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article

Strong and efficient bismuth telluride-based thermoelectrics for Peltier microcoolers

Bin Su, Hua‐Lu Zhuang, Jincheng Yu, Bowen Cai et al.
25 citations
National Science Review
Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
2.93
article

Strong and efficient bismuth telluride-based thermoelectrics for Peltier microcoolers

Bin Su, Hua‐Lu Zhuang, Jincheng Yu, Bowen Cai, Zhanran Han, Hezhang Li, Yilin Jiang, Fengming Liu, Jun Pei, Yu Pan, Chao Wang, Jingwei Li, Jing‐Feng Li, Zhengqin Wang, Haihua Hu
article en
25 citations

Abstract

Thermoelectric Peltier coolers (PCs) are being increasingly used as temperature stabilizers for optoelectronic devices. Increasing integration drives PC miniaturization, requiring thermoelectric materials with good strength. We demonstrate a simultaneous gain of thermoelectric and mechanical performance in (Bi, Sb)<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>, and successfully fabricate micro PCs (2 × 2 mm<sup>2</sup> cross-section) that show excellent maximum cooling temperature difference of 89.3 K with a hot-side temperature of 348 K. A multi-step process involving annealing, hot-forging and composition design, is developed to modify the atomic defects and nano- and microstructures. The peak <i>ZT</i> is improved to ∼1.50 at 348 K, and the flexural and compressive strengths are significantly enhanced to ∼140 MPa and ∼224 MPa, respectively. These achievements hold great potential for advancing solid-state refrigeration technology in small spaces.

National Science ReviewVol. 11(10)
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (DE), Tsinghua University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
2.93
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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