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Integration of ZnO and CuO nanowires into a thermoelectric module

2014; Beilstein Institute for the Advancement of Chemical Sciences; Volume: 5; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3762/bjnano.5.106

2190-4286

Dario Zappa, Simone Dalola, G. Faglia, Elisabetta Comini, Matteo Ferroni, Caterina Soldano, Vittorio Ferrari, Giorgio Sberveglieri,

Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors

Zinc oxide (ZnO, n -type) and copper oxide (CuO, p -type) nanowires have been synthesized and preliminarily investigated as innovative materials for the fabrication of a proof-of-concept thermoelectric device. The Seebeck coefficients, electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power factors (TPF) of both semiconductor materials have been determined independently using a custom experimental set-up, leading to results in agreement with available literature with potential improvement. Combining bundles of ZnO and CuO nanowires in a series of five thermocouples on alumina leads to a macroscopic prototype of a planar thermoelectric generator (TEG) unit. This demonstrates the possibility of further integration of metal oxide nanostructures into efficient thermoelectric devices.