The use of nanostructured solid materials (e.g., texturing and porosity control, inclusions of nanoscale grains or nanoparticles within a bulk matrix etc.) has allowed tremendous improvements in the thermoelectric performance of materials as compared to that of the bulk in the last three decades. More recently, due to their extremely high Seebeck coefficients [1], certain complex liquids and their hybrid materials are also garnering increased recognition as a possible alternative to solid thermoelectrics [2]. ILs in particular, present many promising features such as high electrical conductivity, large temperature and electrochemical windows, low vapor pressure and toxicity, and raw material abundance [3]. The inclusion of charged nanoparticles has also been reported to enhance the overall Seebeck coefficient of the base-fluids [4,5]. From the application operation point-of-view, the benefit of using nanostructured electrodes has been demonstrated to increase the device performance [6].
In this presentation, I will review recent findings on how nanomaterials are incorporated in the complex fluid thermoelectric research, either as a fluid additive or as device component. The current theoretical and phenomenological understanding on the compound thermo-electro-chemical processes as well as future research and technological possibilities for thermoelectric complex fluids will be discussed.
[1] M. Bonetti et al., “Huge Seebeck coefficients in nonaqueous electrolytes,” J. Chem Phys 134, 114513 (2011).
[2] See, for example: M. F. Dupont et al., “Thermo-electrochemical cells for waste heat harvesting – progress and perspectives,” ChemCom (2017), DOI: 10.1039/c7cc02160g
[3] D. R. MacFarlane et al., “Energy applications of ionic liquids,” ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, 7, 232 (2014)
[4] T. Salez et al., “Can charged colloidal particles increase the thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency?” Phys. Chem. Phys, 19, 9409 (2017).
[5] T. Salez, et al., “Magnetic enhancement of Seebeck coefficient in ferrofluids,” Nanoscale Advances, 1, 2979-2989 (2019). doi: 10.1039/c9na00109c
[6] M. Bonetti et al., “Thermoelectric energy recovery at ionic-liquid/electrode interface,” J. Chem. Phys. 142, 244708 (2015); doi: 10.1063/1.4923199.
CEA – IRAMIS/SPEC