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Geometric design of Cu2Se-based thermoelectric materials for enhancing power generation

Nature Energy volume 9, pages 1105–1116 (2024) Cite this article

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Abstract

Waste heat, an abundant energy source generated by both industries and nature, has the potential to be harnessed into electricity via thermoelectric power generation. The performance of thermoelectric modules, typically composed of cuboid-shaped materials, depends on both the materials’ intrinsic properties and the temperature difference created. Despite significant advancements in the development of efficient materials, macroscopic thermal designs capable of accommodating larger temperature differences have been largely underexplored because of the challenges associated with processing bulk thermoelectric materials. Here we present the design strategy for Cu2Se thermoelectric materials for high-temperature power generation using a combination of finite element modelling and 3D printing. The macroscopic geometries and microscopic defects in Cu2Se materials are precisely engineered by optimizing the 3D printing and post-treatment processes, leading to notable enhancements in the material efficiency and temperature difference across legs, where the hourglass geometry exhibits maximized output powers and efficiencies. The proposed approach paves the way for designing efficient thermoelectric power generators.

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Fig. 1: Geometric designs and defect engineering of 3D-printed Cu2Se.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 2: Cu2Se TE leg designs.
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Fig. 3: Optimization of the hourglass-shaped Cu2Se TE leg.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 4: 3D printing of geometric-designed Cu2Se TE materials.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 5: Optimizing the TE properties of the 3D-printed Cu2Se by defect engineering.
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Fig. 6: Power-generating performances of 3D-printed Cu2Se devices.
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Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the published article and its Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.

Code availability

The COMSOL Multiphysics codes generated for this work have been uploaded to Zenodo at https://zenodo.org/records/12154029 (ref. 66).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2022R1A2C3009129 and NRF-2022M3H4A1A04076667). B.Ş. and S.L. acknowledge the United States National Science Foundation (award number CMMI-1943104). We thank B. Ryu for helpful discussion.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Seungjun Choo, Jungsoo Lee.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea

    Seungjun Choo, Jungsoo Lee, Keonkuk Kim, Seong Eun Yang & Jae Sung Son

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Bengisu Şişik & Saniya LeBlanc

  3. Samsung Research, Samsung Electronics, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Sung-Jin Jung

  4. Electronic Materials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Sung-Jin Jung & Seong Keun Kim

  5. Nanomaterials Research Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Changwon, Republic of Korea

    Seungki Jo

  6. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Changhyeon Nam & Sangjoon Ahn

  7. Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea

    Ho Seong Lee

  8. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Han Gi Chae

  9. KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Seong Keun Kim

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Contributions

S.C. and J.L. contributed equally to this work. S.C., J.L., B.Ş., S.L. and J.S.S. designed the experiments, analysed the data and wrote the paper. S.C., J.L., S.E.Y. and S.J. carried out the synthesis and basic characterization of materials. S.-J.J. and S.K.K. carried out calculation of modelled lattice thermal conductivities. K.K. and H.G.C. performed the characterization of rheological properties. C.N. and S.A. performed the characterization of thermal conductivities. H.L. performed the characterization of TEM analysis. S.C. carried out the fabrication and measurement of TEGs. J.L., B.Ş. and S.L. performed the simulation studies. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Saniya LeBlanc or Jae Sung Son.

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Nature Energy thanks Matthew Burton, Kornelius Nielsch, Ady Suwardi and the other, anonymous, reviewer for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information (download PDF )

Supplementary Discussions 1–5, method, Figs. 1–49 and Tables 1–3.

Supplementary Video 1 (download MP4 )

3D printing of arch geometry of Cu2Se.

Supplementary Video 2 (download MP4 )

3D printing of conical arch geometry of Cu2Se.

Supplementary Video 3 (download MP4 )

3D printing of hourglass geometry of Cu2Se.

Source data

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Source data for Fig. 1 with clearly named tabs as figure numbers.

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Source data for Fig. 6 with clearly named tabs as figure numbers.

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Choo, S., Lee, J., Şişik, B. et al. Geometric design of Cu2Se-based thermoelectric materials for enhancing power generation. Nat Energy 9, 1105–1116 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01589-5

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