Högtemperatur-termoelektriska materialbaserade på naturliga supergitteroxider

Forskningsprojekt, 2018 – 2021

Thermoelectric (TE) devices play a crucial role in efficient energy harvesting, and recovery. At high temperatures, however, their usage has currently been hampered by the limitations of current TE materials, being structurally unstable, toxic and/or exotic. This project, which will be performed by the candidate at Harvard University for a period of thirty six months, aims to employ a "thermodynamically-stable nanostructurnig" approach to develop high-temperature TE oxides with enhance properties. To achieve this goal, it is planned to conduct a systematic investigation of several oxides forming natural superlattices, including (ZnO)k-In2O3 systems, in order to gain novel insights into synthesis-structure-property relationships in TE oxides. This will be carried out by means of a combination of extensive microstructural analysis (using e.g., aberration-corrected TEM and APT) and first principles calculations. The cornerstone of the project includes a methodological contribution to explore all the interfacial chemistry changes in nanostructured oxides for the first time on an atomistic scale using in-situ high resolution transmission electron microcopy (in-situ HRTEM). The roles of dopants, crystallographic orientation and dynamic defects in the oxides’ functional properties will be elucidated in a comprehensive manner. The project outcome will thus constitute a great leap forward in developing TE devices that are efficient, inexpensive and environmentally friendly.