Abstract
The thermoelectric power factor has been calculated for a two-constituent composite medium, where one constituent is a “high quality thermoelectric” while the other constituent is a “benign metal”, with large electrical and thermal conductivities but poor thermoelectric properties. It was recently discovered that, in such a mixture, the power factor could be greatly enhanced by an appropriate choice of microstructure. Here we report on a study of three periodic microstructures with cubic point symmetry under rotations: simple cubic (SC), body centered cubic (BCC), and face centered cubic (FCC) arrays of identical spheres of the benign metal embedded in the high quality thermoelectric host. We show detailed results for these microstructures in the case where the benign metal constituent is Copper, while the high quality thermoelectric constituent is the thermoelectric alloy (Bi2Te3)0.2 (Sb2Te3)0.8.
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Fel, L.G., Strelniker, Y.M. & Bergman, D.J. Enhancement of Power Factor in A Thermoelectric Composite With A Periodic Microstructure. MRS Online Proceedings Library 626, 65 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-626-Z6.5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-626-Z6.5