| Type of Document |
Master's Thesis |
| Author |
Osborne, Daniel Josiah
|
| Author's Email Address |
osbordvt@vt.edu |
| URN |
etd-12142010-085754 |
| Title |
A Nanoengineering Approach to Oxide Thermoelectrics For Energy Harvesting Applications |
| Degree |
Master of Science |
| Department |
Materials Science and Engineering |
| Advisory Committee |
| Advisor Name |
Title |
| Abiade, Jeremiah T. |
Committee Chair |
| Heremans, Jean J. |
Committee Member |
| Huxtable, Scott T. |
Committee Member |
|
| Keywords |
- thermal conductivity
- oxide thin film
- thermoelectric
- phonon scattering
- metal nanoparticle
|
| Date of Defense |
2010-12-03 |
| Availability |
unrestricted |
Abstract
The ability of uniquely functional thermoelectric materials to convert waste heat directly into electricity is critical considering the global energy economy. Profitable, energy-efficient thermoelectrics possess thermoelectric figures of merit ZT ≥ 1. We examined the effect of metal nanoparticle – oxide film interfaces on the thermal conductivity κ and Seebeck coefficient α in bilayer and multilayer thin film oxide thermoelectrics in an effort to improve the dimensionless figure of merit ZT. Since a thermoelectric’s figure of merit ZT is inversely proportional to κ and directly proportional to α, reducing κ and increasing α are key strategies to optimize ZT.
We aim to reduce κ by phonon scattering due to the inclusion of metal nanoparticles in the bulk of thermoelectric thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition. XRD, AFM, XPS, and TEM analyses were carried out for structural and compositional characterization. The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured by a four-point probe apparatus. The Seebeck coefficients were measured in-plane, varying the temperature from 100K to 310K. The thermal conductivities were measured at room temperature using Time Domain Thermoreflectance.
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| Files |
| Filename |
Size |
Approximate Download Time
(Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
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56K Modem |
ISDN (64 Kb) |
ISDN (128 Kb) |
Higher-speed Access |
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Osborne_DJ_T_2010.pdf |
1.36 Mb |
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