Integration of ZnO and CuO nanowires into a thermoelectric module

Year: 2014

Authors: Zappa D., Dalola S., Faglia G., Comini E., Ferroni M., Soldano C., Ferrari V., Sberveglieri G.

Autors Affiliation: SENSOR Lab, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell\’Informazione, University of Brescia, Via Valotti 9, 25133 Brescia, Italy; CNR-INO, U.O.S. Brescia, SENSOR Lab, via Branze 45, 25123, Brescia, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell\’Informazione, University of Brescia, via Branze 38, 25123, Brescia, Italy

Abstract: Zinc oxide (ZnO, n-type) and copper oxide (CuO, p-type) nanowires have been synthesized and preliminarily investigated as innovative materials for the fabrication of a proof-of-concept thermoelectric device. The Seebeck coefficients, electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power factors (TPF) of both semiconductor materials have been determined independently using a custom experimental set-up, leading to results in agreement with available literature with potential improvement. Combining bundles of ZnO and CuO nanowires in a series of five thermocouples on alumina leads to a macroscopic prototype of a planar thermoelectric generator (TEG) unit. This demonstrates the possibility of further integration of metal oxide nanostructures into efficient thermoelectric devices.

Journal/Review: BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

Volume: 5      Pages from: 927  to: 936

More Information: Authors gratefully acknowledge partial financial support by the IIT, Project Seed 2009 \”Metal oxide NANOwires as efficient high-temperature THERmoelectric Materials (NANOTHER)\”.
KeyWords: copper oxide; nanowires; thermoelectric; zinc oxide;
DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.5.106

Citations: 23
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