Abstract
Toward high-performance thermoelectric energy conversion, the electrons and holes must work jointly like two wheels of a cart: if not longitudinally, then transversely. The bipolar effect — the main performance restriction in the traditional longitudinal thermoelectricity, can be manipulated to be a performance enhancer in the transverse thermoelectricity. Here, we demonstrate this idea in semimetal Mg2Pb. At 30 K, a giant transverse thermoelectric power factor as high as 400 μWcm−1K−2 is achieved, a 3 orders-of-magnitude enhancement than the longitudinal configuration. The resultant specific heat pumping power is ~ 1 Wg−1, higher than those of existing techniques at 10~100 K. A large number of semimetals and narrow-gap semiconductors making poor longitudinal thermoelectrics due to severe bipolar effect are thus revived to fill the conspicuous gap of thermoelectric materials for solid-state applications.
Highlights
Toward high-performance thermoelectric energy conversion, the electrons and holes must work jointly like two wheels of a cart: if not longitudinally, transversely
Thermoelectricity has a list of technical merits: all solid-state without moving parts, external alternating fields or mechanically moving heat exchangers[6], responsiveness, miniaturizationfriendly, no greenhouse emissions and nearly maintenance-free, Specific heat pumping power (W/g)
A grand open technical question is, can thermoelectricity take on heat pumping between 10 and 100 Kelvin? In this work, we partially answer this question by the change of operation mode and of the choice of material
Summary
Toward high-performance thermoelectric energy conversion, the electrons and holes must work jointly like two wheels of a cart: if not longitudinally, transversely. The bipolar effect — the main performance restriction in the traditional longitudinal thermoelectricity, can be manipulated to be a performance enhancer in the transverse thermoelectricity. The solid-state heat pumping is the alternative option To this end, the refrigerant-free solid-state calorics[2] such as magnetocaloric[3], electrocaloric[4], and elastocaloric[5] techniques have attracted increasing attention. Thermoelectricity has a list of technical merits: all solid-state without moving parts, external alternating fields or mechanically moving heat exchangers[6], responsiveness, miniaturizationfriendly, no greenhouse emissions and nearly maintenance-free, Specific heat pumping power (W/g). A grand open technical question is, can thermoelectricity take on heat pumping between 10 and 100 Kelvin? In this work, we partially answer this question by the change of operation mode and of the choice of material
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