3D printing of shape-conformable thermoelectric materials using all-inorganic Bi2Te3-based inks

Fredrick Kim, Beomjin Kwon, Youngho Eom, Ji Eun Lee, Sangmin Park, Seungki Jo, Sung Hoon Park, Bong-Seo Kim, Hye Jin Im, Min Ho Lee, Tae Sik Min, Kyung Tae Kim, Han Gi Chae, William P. King and Jae Sung Son ()
Additional contact information
Fredrick Kim: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Beomjin Kwon: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Youngho Eom: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Ji Eun Lee: Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute
Sangmin Park: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Seungki Jo: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Sung Hoon Park: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Bong-Seo Kim: Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute
Hye Jin Im: Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute
Min Ho Lee: Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute
Tae Sik Min: Korea Institute of Materials Science
Kyung Tae Kim: Korea Institute of Materials Science
Han Gi Chae: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
William P. King: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jae Sung Son: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)

Nature Energy, 2018, vol. 3, issue 4, 301-309

Abstract: Abstract Thermoelectric energy conversion offers a unique solution for generating electricity from waste heat. However, despite recent improvements in the efficiency of thermoelectric materials, the widespread application of thermoelectric generators has been hampered by challenges in fabricating thermoelectric materials with appropriate dimensions to perfectly fit heat sources. Herein, we report an extrusion-based three-dimensional printing method to produce thermoelectric materials with geometries suitable for heat sources. All-inorganic viscoelastic inks were synthesized using Sb2Te3 chalcogenidometallate ions as inorganic binders for Bi2Te3-based particles. Three-dimensional printed materials with various geometries showed homogenous thermoelectric properties, and their dimensionless figure-of-merit values of 0.9 (p-type) and 0.6 (n-type) were comparable to the bulk values. Conformal cylindrical thermoelectric generators made of 3D-printed half rings mounted on an alumina pipe were studied both experimentally and computationally. Simulations show that the power output of the conformal, shape-optimized generator is higher than that of conventional planar generators.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41560-017-0071-2

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