AI Article Synopsis

  • Thermoelectric technology can turn waste heat into electricity, but traditional materials are scarce and toxic.
  • Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a safer and more abundant alternative with good thermal stability, but it has high thermal conductivity that hampers its performance.
  • This study demonstrates a multi-step approach that combines graphene quantum dots with 3D nanostructured ZnO, achieving a record high thermoelectric performance (zT of ~0.486) with low thermal conductivity (0.785 W mK) and a high Seebeck coefficient (556 μV K) at elevated temperatures.

Article Abstract

Thermoelectric technology has potential for converting waste heat into electricity. Although traditional thermoelectric materials exhibit extremely high thermoelectric performances, their scarcity and toxicity limit their applications. Zinc oxide (ZnO) emerges as a promising alternative owing to its high thermal stability and relatively high Seebeck coefficient, while also being earth-abundant and nontoxic. However, its high thermal conductivity (>40 W mK) remains a challenge. In this study, we use a multi-step strategy to achieve a significantly high dimensionless figure-of-merit (zT) value of approximately 0.486 at 580 K (estimated value) by interfacing graphene quantum dots with 3D nanostructured ZnO. Here, we show the fabrication of graphene quantum dots interfaced 3D ZnO, yielding the highest zT value ever reported for ZnO counterparts; specifically, our experimental results indicate that the fabricated 3D GQD@ZnO exhibited a significantly low thermal conductivity of 0.785 W mK (estimated value) and a remarkably high Seebeck coefficient of 556 μV K at 580 K.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10940299PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46182-2DOI Listing

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