Materials with Thermoelectric Properties group

Perspective view of the cubic unit cell of the Cu12Sb4S13 tetrahedrite in thermal ellipsoid representation (95% probability level). The atoms Cu1, Cu2, Sb and S are represented by dark blue, green, brown and yellow ellipsoids, respectively

Perspective view of the cubic unit cell of the Cu₁₂Sb₄S₁₃ tetrahedrite in thermal ellipsoid representation (95% probability level). The atoms Cu1, Cu2, Sb and S are represented by dark blue, green, brown and yellow ellipsoids, respectively

HAADF-STEM image of single-crystalline (PbSe)5(Bi2Se3)3m taken along the zone axis 010. The crystal structure is overlaid in the image (Pb, Bi and Se are shown in green, pink and yellow, respectively). The bottom image shows the corresponding electron diffraction diagram

HAADF-STEM image of single-crystalline (PbSe)₅(Bi₂Se₃)_3m taken along the zone axis 010. The crystal structure is overlaid in the image (Pb, Bi and Se are shown in green, pink and yellow, respectively). The bottom image shows the corresponding electron diffraction diagram

High-power-density single-couple thermoelectric generator

Last publications

Weak electron-phonon coupling contributing to enhanced thermoelectric performance in n-type TiCoSb half-Heusler alloys
Ajay Kumar Verma, Shamma Jain, Kishor Kumar Johari, Christophe Candolfi, Bertrand Lenoir, S.R. Dhakate, Bhasker Gahtori
Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2024, 976, pp.173275. ⟨10.1016/j.jallcom.2023.173275⟩
Critical analysis of optimized energy harvesting at small-scale by thermally coupled photovoltaic-thermoelectric systems
M. Huq, A.M. Jasi, P. Poure, S. Jovanovic, I. Revol, B. Lenoir
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2024, 195, pp.114331. ⟨10.1016/j.rser.2024.114331⟩
Three-Fold Coordination of Copper in Sulfides: A Blockade for Hole Carrier Delocalization but a Driving Force for Ultralow Thermal Conductivity
Krishnendu Maji, Bernard Raveau, P. Lemoine, Philippe Boullay, Paribesh Acharyya, Xingchen Shen, Adèle Renaud, Vincent Pelletier, Régis Gautier, Virginia Carnevali, Marco Fornari, Bin Zhang, Xiaoyuan Zhou, Bertrand Lenoir, Christophe Candolfi, Emmanuel Guilmeau
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2024, ⟨10.1021/jacs.3c13884⟩

Presentation

Thermoelectric effects enable to convert elegantly either electricity into a temperature difference, thereby producing “cold” (Peltier effect), or any heat source into useful electricity (Seebeck effect). The studies carried out by the team address the challenges faced by this green technology :

the identification and development of new thermoelectric materials with enhanced conversion performance compared to state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials,
understanding the intrinsic mechanisms governing the electronic and thermal transport in thermoelectric materials,
the search for innovative solutions for the manufacture and reliability of thermoelectric modules.

The team mainly focuses on degenerate, low-band-gap semiconductors, which are the materials of choice for thermoelectricity. The synthesis of these materials is carried out either in single crystalline or polycrystalline form by various synthesis techniques (Bridgman, flux-growth for single crystals, powder metallurgy for polycrystals).

Thanks to its unique experimental facilities, the team can probe the electrical, thermal and galvanomagnetic properties over a wide range of temperatures (2 - 1500 K). Research activities also rely on large-scale facilities (ILL, ESRF) to deepen the knowledge of the lattice dynamics and electronic properties of the materials synthesized.

Significant efforts are also devoted to the development of thermoelectric modules, on-going from the modeling to the manufacturing through the optimization of their reliability.

Keywords

Thermoelectricity

Thermoelectric materials

Electrical and thermal transport

Synthesis

Thermoelectric modules

Modeling

Research topics

Synthesis and characterisation of conventional or advanced thermoelectric materials

The group works on several families of promising materials for power generation, such as, among others, chalogenides and Zintl phases:

SnTe and Bi₂Te₂Se chalcogenides are two defined compounds that have the peculiarity to be dopableed by resonant impurities. This specificity opens interesting perspectives to advantageously modulate their electronic properties.
In the case of Zintl phases, one of the main challenges is to discover efficient n-type materials. This study is carried out in collaboration (ANR PRCI) with the University of Koç in Istanbul, Turkey (Dr. Umut Aydemir's group).

The studies on conventional or advanced materials relies on the synthesis and thorough characterization of their electrical and thermal properties. In addition, they benefit from the support of ab-initio electronic structure calculations thanks to a long-standing collaboration with the University of Krakow in Poland (Pr. Janusz Tobola and Dr. Bartlomiej Wiendlocha's group).

Project:

ANR DENZIP 2019-2022

Thesis:

Adèle LEON
Oussama EL-HAMOULI

Articles:

Band structure engineering in Sn1.03Te through an In-induced resonant level, Misra et al., J. Mat.Chem. C, 2020, 8, 977
High temperature thermoelectric properties of the tetradymite Bi2-xPbxTe2Se (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.03), Léon et al., Applied Physics Letter, 2021, 119, 232103

Development of thermoelectric modules for applications in power generation

Although the thermoelectric technology presents many advantages (solid-state conversion, high reliability, …), several obstacles must be overcome to make it a viable option for power generation. In particular, the thermal and chemical stability of the materials and interfaces must be ensured under operating conditions. The team is addressing these issues in the frame of the ANR i-HEPHAISTOS, which aims to develop low-cost skutterudite-based modules for moderate temperature applications.

It is also involved in the development of high power density thermoelectric modules integrating advanced materials. This work is the subject of a maturation project (MOTHEL project).

The group is also involved in an ANR project (HYDRES) the objective of which is to design a device to recover the energy lost thermally in a photovoltaic solar cell by coupling to this cell a thermoelectric generator.

Projects:

Maturation MOTHEL, 2020-2021
ANR i-HEPHAISTOS, 2021-2024
ANR HYDRES, 2022-2025

Post-doc:

Soufiane EL-OUALID

Articles:

High power density thermoelectric generators with skutterudites, El-Oualid et al., Advanced Energy Materials, 2021, 2100580, Cover page

Know-how

Synthesis

Growth of cm3-sized single crystals of semiconductors (IV-VI, V-V, V-VI, ...)
Synthesis of polycrystalline thermoelectric materials
Assembly of thermoelectric legs by the SPS technique
Manufacturing of thermoelectric modules

Characterization

Characterization of the electrical, thermal and galvanomagnetic properties of the synthesized materials over a wide range of temperatures (2 – 1500 K)
Measurements of the electrical contact resistance
Characterization of thermoelectric modules