Writing this blog I am currently experiencing the uncomfortable outcome of not having a desk at home: scorched knees from my overworked laptop giving off enough heat to penetrate two substantial layers of clothing.
It is well known and, as I am experiencing, easily demonstrated that machines generate heat when they operate. This waste heat is an unfortunate trade off in order for it to produce enough power to perform its intended task. However, this heat whilst unavoidable does not have to be wasted. Through the use of thermoelectric materials this heat could be captured and used to generate emission-free renewable power.
This paper by Peng et al presents results of the enhancement of promising thermoelectric Yb-filled COSb3 skutterudite bulk materials, by incorporating nanoparticles into the bulk material lattice, in order to improve thermoelectric performance. By inclusion of AgSbTe2 nanoparticles the electrical resistivity of the composites is decreased and the ability of the material to convert heat to electricity is also improved. Overall this leads to a remarkable boost of the power factor that can be achieved.
Jiangying Peng, Liangwei Fu, Qiongzhen Lui, Ming Liu, Junyou Yang, Dale Hitchcock, Menghan, Zhou and Jian He
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 73-79. C3TA13729E
H. L. Parker is a guest web writer for the Journal of Materials Chemistry blog. She currently works at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York.
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