Concepedia

Thermoelectric Devices for Power Generation: Recent Progress and Future Challenges

Qihao Zhang, Huang Xiang, Sheng Qiang Bai, Xun Shi, Ctirad Uher, Lidong Chen

Advanced Engineering Materials · 2015 · 394 citations · 87 references

TL;DR

Thermoelectric devices are increasingly studied for power generation because they operate in solid state, are stable, and highly reliable. This review surveys the design principles, fabrication techniques, and testing methods for thermoelectric power generators, and outlines future challenges. The authors detail fabrication and testing strategies for skutterudite‑ and Bi₂Te₃‑based devices, covering electrode construction, barrier layers, interface optimization, protective coatings, and module evaluation. They report progress in Bi₂Te₃ devices, highlighting optimized Bi₂Te₃/electrode joints and the fabrication and assessment of complete modules.

Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) devices for power generation have been attracting increasing attention on account of their advantages such as solid‐state operation, good stability, and high reliability. This paper presents an overview of the design principle, fabrication methods and testing technology of TE power generation devices. Particular attention is paid to skutterudite‐based devices regarding electrode fabrication, barrier layer design, interface optimization, protective coating, and evaluation of elements and modules. The development of Bi 2 Te 3 ‐based devices for power generation focusing specifically on the optimization of Bi 2 Te 3 /electrode joints and fabrication and evaluation of Bi 2 Te 3 ‐based modules is summarized. The future challenges concerning TE devices for power generation are discussed.