Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals

More than 70 % of the primary energy consumed world-wide is wasted, mostly as heat below 100 °C[1]. Thermoelectric generators may convert a substantial amount of this energy into electrical power but high production costs and scarcity of efficient thermoelectric materials operating in this temperatu...

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Main Authors: Huewe, Florian, Steeger, Alexander, Kostova, Kalina, Burroughs, Laurence, Bauer, Irene, Strohriegl, Vladimir, Woodward, Simon, Pflaum, Jens
Format: Article
Published: Wiley 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40593/
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author Huewe, Florian
Steeger, Alexander
Kostova, Kalina
Burroughs, Laurence
Bauer, Irene
Strohriegl, Vladimir
Woodward, Simon
Pflaum, Jens
author_facet Huewe, Florian
Steeger, Alexander
Kostova, Kalina
Burroughs, Laurence
Bauer, Irene
Strohriegl, Vladimir
Woodward, Simon
Pflaum, Jens
author_sort Huewe, Florian
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description More than 70 % of the primary energy consumed world-wide is wasted, mostly as heat below 100 °C[1]. Thermoelectric generators may convert a substantial amount of this energy into electrical power but high production costs and scarcity of efficient thermoelectric materials operating in this temperature regime have limited large-scale applications so far. Recently, conducting polymers have been proposed as potential candidates to meet these challenges showing appreciable low-temperature thermoelectric performance, but unfortunately suffering from low electrical conductivity due to inherent disorder[2–5]. Herein, crystalline low-dimensional molecular metals are demonstrated as an alternative class of thermoelectric materials combining the advantages of low weight, chemical variety, sustainability and high charge carrier mobility with reduced electronic dimensionality. For the first time determining all relevant thermoelectric quantities on individual organic crystals of both, p-type TTT2I3 and n-type DCNQI2Cu conductors, high power factors and promising figures of merit surpassing values of zT≥0.15 below 40 K are disclosed in this study. The cost-defining power output per active area of a prototypical, all-organic TEG takes unprecedented values of ~mW/cm2 at RT. Violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law and phonon drag effects emerge from the materials’ low-dimensionality and are expected to deliver further thermoelectric enhancement feasible in near future.
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spelling nottingham-405932020-05-04T18:34:56Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40593/ Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals Huewe, Florian Steeger, Alexander Kostova, Kalina Burroughs, Laurence Bauer, Irene Strohriegl, Vladimir Woodward, Simon Pflaum, Jens More than 70 % of the primary energy consumed world-wide is wasted, mostly as heat below 100 °C[1]. Thermoelectric generators may convert a substantial amount of this energy into electrical power but high production costs and scarcity of efficient thermoelectric materials operating in this temperature regime have limited large-scale applications so far. Recently, conducting polymers have been proposed as potential candidates to meet these challenges showing appreciable low-temperature thermoelectric performance, but unfortunately suffering from low electrical conductivity due to inherent disorder[2–5]. Herein, crystalline low-dimensional molecular metals are demonstrated as an alternative class of thermoelectric materials combining the advantages of low weight, chemical variety, sustainability and high charge carrier mobility with reduced electronic dimensionality. For the first time determining all relevant thermoelectric quantities on individual organic crystals of both, p-type TTT2I3 and n-type DCNQI2Cu conductors, high power factors and promising figures of merit surpassing values of zT≥0.15 below 40 K are disclosed in this study. The cost-defining power output per active area of a prototypical, all-organic TEG takes unprecedented values of ~mW/cm2 at RT. Violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law and phonon drag effects emerge from the materials’ low-dimensionality and are expected to deliver further thermoelectric enhancement feasible in near future. Wiley 2017-02-13 Article PeerReviewed Huewe, Florian, Steeger, Alexander, Kostova, Kalina, Burroughs, Laurence, Bauer, Irene, Strohriegl, Vladimir, Woodward, Simon and Pflaum, Jens (2017) Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals. Advanced Materials . ISSN 1521-4095 Organic thermoelectric materials Molecular metals Radical ion salts Thermal conductivity Seebeck coefficient http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201605682/full#publication-history doi:10.1002/adma.201605682 doi:10.1002/adma.201605682
spellingShingle Organic thermoelectric materials
Molecular metals
Radical ion salts
Thermal conductivity
Seebeck coefficient
Huewe, Florian
Steeger, Alexander
Kostova, Kalina
Burroughs, Laurence
Bauer, Irene
Strohriegl, Vladimir
Woodward, Simon
Pflaum, Jens
Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals
title Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals
title_full Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals
title_fullStr Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals
title_full_unstemmed Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals
title_short Low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals
title_sort low-cost and sustainable organic thermoelectrics based on low-dimensional molecular metals
topic Organic thermoelectric materials
Molecular metals
Radical ion salts
Thermal conductivity
Seebeck coefficient
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40593/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40593/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40593/