# US 11,309,475 B2 · Tin oxide-based thermoelectric device

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- Number: US 11,309,475 B2
- Document ID: US11309475B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/509,130
- Filed: 2021-10-25
- Published: 2022-02-10
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2019-01-25
- Assignees: King Abdulaziz University
- Applicants: King Abdulaziz University
- Inventors: Numan Salah; Ahmed Alshahrie; Neazar Baghdadi; Waleed M. Al-Shawafil; Adnan Memic; Kunihito Koumoto
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11309475B2

## CPC

- H10N 10/85: Thermoelectric active materials
- H10N 10/857: comprising compositions changing continuously or discontinuously inside the material
- H10N 10/82: Interconnections
- H10N 10/855: comprising compounds containing boron, carbon, oxygen or nitrogen
- H10N 10/17: characterised by the structure or configuration of the cell or thermocouple forming the device
- H10N: ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A thermoelectric module comprising nanostructured SnO and SnO2, and electrodes arranged between two electrical insulating substrates is described. The nanostructured SnO may be in the form of nanosheets and acting as p-type pillars of the module. The nanostructured SnO2 may be in the form of nanospheres and acting as n-type pillars of the module. This thermoelectric module is evaluated on the voltage, current, and power of the electricity generated once subjected to a temperature gradient.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A tin oxide thermoelectric device, comprising:
an equal number of p-type pillars comprising at least 99.5 wt % nanostructured SnO and n-type pillars comprising at least 99.5 wt % nanostructured SnO2 arranged between a first electrical insulating substrate and a second electrical insulating substrate; wherein the n-type pillars and the p-type pillars are rectangular cuboids having dimensions of 0.5-5 mm×5-10 mm×2-15 mm arranged in a planar array checkboard pattern comprising non-contacting alternating p-type and n-type pillars, and the array comprises from 4 to 200 pairs of the p-type and n-type pillars;
a plurality of first electrodes that are in thermal contact with the first electrical insulating substrate; and
a plurality of second electrodes that are in thermal contact with the second electrical insulating substrate,
wherein:
the first electrical insulating substrate and the second electrical insulating substrate are ceramic,
the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes are wires that extend from the first and second electrical insulating substrates,
the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes alternately connect the p-type pillars and n-type pillars in electrical series,
wherein the thermoelectric module generates a power of 0.004-35 mW when a temperature difference ranging from 2 to 100° C. exists between the first electrical insulating substrate and the second electrical insulating substrate.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the nanostructured SnO is in the form of nanosheets.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The thermoelectric module of claim 2, wherein the nanosheets have an average thickness of 50-200 nm and an average length of 500-3,000 nm.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the nanostructured SnO2 is in the form of nanospheres.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the nanostructured SnO has an electrical resistivity of 0.1-10 Ω·cm at a temperature in a range of 280-450° C.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the nanostructured SnO has a Seebeck coefficient of 200 μV/K to 700 μV/K at a temperature in a range of 280-450° C.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the nanostructured SnO2 has an electrical resistivity of 25-300 Ω·cm at a temperature in a range of 280-450° C.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the nanostructured SnO2 has a Seebeck coefficient of −100 μV/K to −500 μV/K at a temperature in a range of 280-450° C.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, which comprises 16 p-type pillars and 16 n-type pillars.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the p-type pillars further comprise a dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, cobalt, manganese, zinc, iron, and carbon nanoparticles incorporated into the nanostructured SnO.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the n-type pillars further comprise a dopant selected from the group consisting of copper, cobalt, manganese, zinc, iron, and carbon nanoparticles incorporated into the nanostructured SnO2.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, wherein the first electrical insulating substrate and the second electrical insulating substrate each comprise a ceramic material.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, which generates a voltage of 30-550 mV when a temperature difference ranging from 2 to 100° C. exists between the first and the second insulating substrates.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The thermoelectric module of claim 1, which generates a current of 0.1-60 μA when a temperature difference ranging from 2 to 100° C. exists between the first and the second insulating substrates.