MAULANA AZAD NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY BHOPAL (M.P)

Department of Physics

Topic :- INTRODUCTION to THERMOELECTRICS

Tejaswi Ratre
212105014
MSc Physics
PHY--516
Content
Introduction
Seebeck Effect
Peltier Effect
Thomsan Effect
Figure of Merit
Thermoelectric Efficiency
Application
Advantage
Disadvantages
Conclusion and Reference
•The thermoelectric effect is the direct conversion of
temperature difference into electric voltage and vise versa

•In a thermoelectric material there are free carriers which

carry both charge and heat.
When the junctions are
maintained at different
temperature, the emf is produced
in the circuit .

•Since the junctions are

maintained at different
temperature, the emf 'U' flows
across the circuit
V = α∆T

V = Voltage
α= Seebeck coefficient
∆T = Temperature difference
.
•The Peltier heat generated at the
junction per unit time

•The peltire coefficient represents

how much heat is carried per unit
charge
The current flows throughthe unequally heated
conductor, heat is evolved or absorbed through the
conductor

Heat production rate unit per unit volume

q' =-KJ.∆T-
•K- Thomson coefficient
•∆T-Temperature gradient
•J-Current density
 Limitations
(1) the bands were purely
parabolic or with infinite dispersion;
(2) only a single
Isotropic band was considered;
(3) models for scattering and
transport were based on free
paths, or at best scattering proportional to the density of
states (DOS).
ζ is the quantity
responsible for the thermal-gradient-to-charge-current
conversion
(Jc = σE − ζ∇T).
That is, ζ represents the charge conductivity due
to thermal driving force.
where V is the cell volume
, EF is the Fermi level,
f(E) is the
Fermi–Dirac distribution,
and Σ(E) = v2
(E)τ(E)D(E) is the spectral
conductivity, composed of group velocity (v), lifetime (τ), and
DOS
(D).
 Strategies to improving zT

Phonon glass electron crystal

Phonon liquid electron crystal

Selection of Semiconductor
 Bipolar Effect
In relatively narrow band-gap thermoelectric (TE)
compounds is a negative process deteriorating the TE
properties particularly at higher temperatures.

The bipolar effect imposes remarkable influence on all

the electron-transport related TE parameters.
Nanodimensional Approach
Added aerogel to the BiTe-based n- and p-type and
to p-type MgAgSb thermoelectric materials was
found to significantly enhance the figure of merit
(zT) values.
maximum efficiency of a
thermoelectric material
depends on two terms

Carnot efficiency, for all

heat engines can not exceed
Carnot efficiency

Depends on the
thermoelectric properties,
Seebeck
coefficient,electrical
resistivity and thermal
conductivity
REFERENCE

1.H. Julian Goldsmid:, Introduction to Thermoelectricity, Springer

international publisher,2010
2Energy Technologies Area, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
3.MG Kanatzidis etal:, Chemistry,physics, and material science of
thermoelectric materialsn beyond bismuth telluride, First edition,
Springer international publisher,
4. http://thermoelectrics match.northwestem.ed therm
5. Liouise Henderson:, Calculating crystal properties of bismuth
telluride using wien22, senior thesis, 2014