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Silicon nanowires as efficient thermoelectric materials

Author

Listed:
  • Akram I. Boukai

    (MC 127-72, 1200 East California Blvd, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

  • Yuri Bunimovich

    (MC 127-72, 1200 East California Blvd, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

  • Jamil Tahir-Kheli

    (MC 127-72, 1200 East California Blvd, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

  • Jen-Kan Yu

    (MC 127-72, 1200 East California Blvd, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

  • William A. Goddard III

    (MC 127-72, 1200 East California Blvd, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

  • James R. Heath

    (MC 127-72, 1200 East California Blvd, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

Abstract

Silicon goes thermoelectric Thermoelectric materials, capable of converting a thermal gradient to an electric field and vice versa, could be useful in power generation and refrigeration. But the fabrication of the available high-performance thermoelectric materials is not easily scaled up to the volumes needed for large-scale heat energy scavenging applications. Nanostructuring improves thermoelectric capabilities of some materials, but good thermoelectric materials tend not to take readily to nanostructuring. How about silicon? It can be processed on a large scale but has poor thermoelectric properties. Two groups now show that silicon's thermoelectric properties can be vastly improved by structuring it into arrays of nanowires and carefully controlling nanowire morphology and doping. So with more development, silicon may have potential as a thermoelectric material.

Suggested Citation

  • Akram I. Boukai & Yuri Bunimovich & Jamil Tahir-Kheli & Jen-Kan Yu & William A. Goddard III & James R. Heath, 2008. "Silicon nanowires as efficient thermoelectric materials," Nature, Nature, vol. 451(7175), pages 168-171, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:451:y:2008:i:7175:d:10.1038_nature06458
    DOI: 10.1038/nature06458
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhukovsky, K.V. & Srivastava, H.M., 2017. "Analytical solutions for heat diffusion beyond Fourier law," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 293(C), pages 423-437.
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    5. Karalis, George & Tzounis, Lazaros & Lambrou, Eleftherios & Gergidis, Leonidas N. & Paipetis, Alkiviadis S., 2019. "A carbon fiber thermoelectric generator integrated as a lamina within an 8-ply laminate epoxy composite: Efficient thermal energy harvesting by advanced structural materials," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
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    11. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Liao, Chen-Yeh & Hung, Chen-I & Huang, Wei-Lun, 2012. "Experimental study on thermoelectric modules for power generation at various operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 874-881.
    12. Hsu, Cheng-Ting & Huang, Gia-Yeh & Chu, Hsu-Shen & Yu, Ben & Yao, Da-Jeng, 2011. "Experiments and simulations on low-temperature waste heat harvesting system by thermoelectric power generators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 1291-1297, April.
    13. Guo, Juncheng & Zhang, Xiuqin & Su, Guozhen & Chen, Jincan, 2012. "The performance analysis of a micro-/nanoscaled quantum heat engine," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 391(24), pages 6432-6439.
    14. Martín-González, Marisol & Caballero-Calero, O. & Díaz-Chao, P., 2013. "Nanoengineering thermoelectrics for 21st century: Energy harvesting and other trends in the field," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 288-305.
    15. Sark, W.G.J.H.M. van, 2011. "Feasibility of photovoltaic - Thermoelectric hybrid modules," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(8), pages 2785-2790, August.
    16. Kevin Bethke & Virgil Andrei & Klaus Rademann, 2016. "Decreasing the Effective Thermal Conductivity in Glass Supported Thermoelectric Layers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, March.
    17. Wang, Junyi & Wang, Yuan & Su, Shanhe & Chen, Jincan, 2017. "Simulation design and performance evaluation of a thermoelectric refrigerator with inhomogeneously-doped nanomaterials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 427-432.
    18. Seunggen Yang & Kyoungah Cho & Sangsig Kim, 2020. "Enhanced Thermoelectric Characteristics of Ag 2 Se Nanoparticle Thin Films by Embedding Silicon Nanowires," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-10, June.
    19. Shen, Rong & Gou, Xiaolong & Xu, Haoyu & Qiu, Kuanrong, 2017. "Dynamic performance analysis of a cascaded thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 808-815.
    20. Choi, Wonchul & Jun, Dongseok & Kim, Soojung & Shin, Mincheol & Jang, Moongyu, 2015. "Thermoelectric characteristics of Pt-silicide/silicon multi-layer structured p-type silicon," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 180-183.
    21. Wang, Yuchao & Dai, Chuanshan & Wang, Shixue, 2013. "Theoretical analysis of a thermoelectric generator using exhaust gas of vehicles as heat source," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1171-1180.
    22. Fitriani, & Ovik, R. & Long, B.D. & Barma, M.C. & Riaz, M. & Sabri, M.F.M. & Said, S.M. & Saidur, R., 2016. "A review on nanostructures of high-temperature thermoelectric materials for waste heat recovery," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 635-659.

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