Experimental studies of the thermoelectric properties of microstructured and nanostructured lead salts
Name
60689207-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
1.35 MB
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Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
13dfdcfe405f4193d8df26e58b40c7b3
Author(s)
Barron, Kathleen C., 1982-
Advisor(s)
Gang Chen.
Date Issued
2005
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Thermoelectric devices allow for direct conversion between thermal and electrical energy. There applications, however, are severely limited by their inefficiency. A reduction in thermal conductivity of a material potentially enhances its overall thermoelectric performance and can improve the efficiency of thermoelectric devices. Thermal conductivity can be reduced by boundary phonon scattering for materials in which the grain size is comparable to or less than the phonon mean free path. Samples of PbTe and PbSe were prepared by hot pressing nano-size and micro-sized particles and the thermal diffusivity, the Seebeck coefficient, and the electric conductivity of the samples were measured. The samples made from the nano-sized particles showed no reduction in thermal conductivity and no enhancement of thermoelectric properties. It is suspected that the grain growth occurred during the hot pressing stage, resulting in grains sizes larger than the original particle. The grains may have grown substantially larger than the phonon mean free path. Grains of this dimension are not effective at scattering phonons.
Description
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 32).
Subjects
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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