DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1510231112. Relationship between thermoelectric figure of merit and energy conversion efficiency

Relationship between thermoelectric figure of merit and energy conversion efficiency

10.1073/pnas.1510231112

Crossref journal-article

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (341)

Abstract

Significance Thermoelectric materials generate electricity from temperature gradients. The dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = S 2 ρ −1 κ −1 T , is calculated from the Seebeck coefficient ( S ), electrical resistivity ( ρ ), and thermal conductivity ( κ ). The calculated efficiency based on ZT using the conventional formula is not reliable in some cases due to the assumption of temperature-independent S , ρ , and κ . We established a new efficiency formula by introducing an engineering figure of merit ( ZT ) eng and an engineering power factor ( PF ) eng to predict reliably and accurately the efficiency of materials at a large temperature difference between the hot and cold sides, unlike the conventional ZT and PF providing performance only at specific temperatures. These new formulas will profoundly impact the search for new thermoelectric materials.

Bibliography

Kim, H. S., Liu, W., Chen, G., Chu, C.-W., & Ren, Z. (2015). Relationship between thermoelectric figure of merit and energy conversion efficiency. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(27), 8205â8210.

Authors 5

Hee Seok Kim (first)
Weishu Liu (additional)
Gang Chen (additional)
Ching-Wu Chu (additional)
Zhifeng Ren (additional)

References 35 Referenced 509

DM Rowe CRC Handbook of Thermoelectrics (CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 1995). / CRC Handbook of Thermoelectrics by Rowe DM (1995)
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Dates

Type	When
Created	10 years, 2 months ago (June 22, 2015, 10:01 p.m.)
Deposited	3 years, 4 months ago (April 13, 2022, midnight)
Indexed	14 minutes ago (Sept. 6, 2025, 9:32 a.m.)
Issued	10 years, 2 months ago (June 22, 2015)
Published	10 years, 2 months ago (June 22, 2015)
Published Online	10 years, 2 months ago (June 22, 2015)
Published Print	10 years, 1 month ago (July 7, 2015)

Funders 4

U.S. Department of Energy 10.13039/100000015
Region: Americas
gov (National government)
Labels8
1. Energy Department
2. Department of Energy
3. United States Department of Energy
4. ENERGY.GOV
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6. USDOE
7. DOE
8. USADOE
Awards1
1. DE-FG02-13ER46917
U.S. Department of Energy 10.13039/100000015
Region: Americas
gov (National government)
Labels8
1. Energy Department
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4. ENERGY.GOV
5. US Department of Energy
6. USDOE
7. DOE
8. USADOE
Awards1
1. DE-SC0010831
U.S. Department of Energy 10.13039/100000015
Region: Americas
gov (National government)
Labels8
1. Energy Department
2. Department of Energy
3. United States Department of Energy
4. ENERGY.GOV
5. US Department of Energy
6. USDOE
7. DOE
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Awards1
1. DE-SC0001299
DOD | Air Force Office of Scientific Research 10.13039/100000181 Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Region: Americas
gov (National government)
Labels4
1. AF Office of Scientific Research
2. US Air Force Office of Scientific Research
3. United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research
4. AFOSR
Awards1
1. FA9550-09-1-0656

BibTeX

@article{Kim_2015, title={Relationship between thermoelectric figure of merit and energy conversion efficiency}, volume={112}, ISSN={1091-6490}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510231112}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.1510231112}, number={27}, journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, author={Kim, Hee Seok and Liu, Weishu and Chen, Gang and Chu, Ching-Wu and Ren, Zhifeng}, year={2015}, month=jun, pages={8205–8210} }

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