Recent Studies on the Environmentally Benign Alkaline-Earth Silicide Mg 2 Si for Middle-Temperature Thermoelectric Applications

Daishi Shiojiri, Tsutomu Iida, Naomi Hirayama, Yoji Imai, Hiroharu Sugawara and Jin Kusaka
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Daishi Shiojiri: Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijyuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
Tsutomu Iida: Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijyuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
Naomi Hirayama: Next Generation TATARA Co-Creation Centre, Shimane University, 1060 Nishi-Kawatsu, Matsue 690-8504, Shimane, Japan
Yoji Imai: Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijyuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
Hiroharu Sugawara: Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Systems Design, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 6-6 Asahigaoka, Hino, Tokyo 191-0065, Japan
Jin Kusaka: Department of Modern Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Most primary energy sources, such as the fossil fuels of oil, coal, and natural gas, produce waste heat. Recycling of this unused thermal energy is necessary in order to increase the efficiency of usage. Thermoelectric (TE) conversion technologies, by which waste heat is directly converted into electricity, have been extensively studied, and the development of these technologies has continued. TE power-generation has attracted significant attention for use in self-powered wireless sensors, which are important for our increasingly sophisticated information society. For the middle-temperature range (i.e., 600–900 K), with applications such as automobiles, intensive studies of high-performance TE materials have been conducted. In this study, we review our recent experimental and theoretical studies on alkaline-earth silicide Mg 2 Si TE materials, which consist of nontoxic abundant earth elements. We demonstrate improvements in TE performance brought about by lightly doping Mg 2 Si with isoelectronic impurities. Furthermore, we examine the electrode formation and material coatings. Finally, we simulate the exhaust heat requirements for the practical application of TE generators.

Keywords: renewable energy; energy conversion; waste heat recovery; thermoelectricity; silicides (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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