US 12,593,609 B2 · Thermoelectric nanocomposite materials

Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposite material that includes at least one component consisting of nanocrystals. A TE nanocomposite material in accordance with the present invention can include, but is not limited to, multiple nanocrystalline structures, nanocrystal networks or partial networks, or multi-component materials, with some components forming connected interpenetrating networks including nanocrystalline networks. The TE nanocomposite material can be in the form of a bulk solid having semiconductor nanocrystallites that form an electrically conductive network within the material. In other embodiments, the TE nanocomposite material can be a nanocomposite thermoelectric material having one network of p-type or n-type semiconductor domains and a low thermal conductivity semiconductor or dielectric network or domains separating the p-type or n-type domains that provides efficient phonon scattering to reduce thermal conductivity while maintaining the electrical properties of the p-type or n-type semiconductor.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposite material having a predefined structure and predefined charge and heat transport properties, comprising:

a three-dimensional nanoparticle material network comprising bonded core/shell nanoparticles, each of the core/shell nanoparticles including a core of a first material having a p- or n-type conductivity and a shell extending about the core comprised of a different material than the first material, wherein the bonded nanoparticles are embedded within a solid comprising a second material having a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of the first material;
wherein the nanoparticle material network of the first material retains its nanostructure within the solid material;
wherein a p- or n-type network formed by the first material percolates charge through the entire TE material;
and
wherein the second material provides a level of phonon scattering in the TE nanocomposite material so as to reduce its thermal conductivity while maintaining or improving electrical transport properties provided by the p- or n-type network formed by the first material.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Thermoelectric nanocomposite materials

Life of this patent

Thermoelectric nanocomposite materials

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20