A Nanoengineering Approach to Oxide Thermoelectrics For Energy Harvesting Applications

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dc.contributor.authorOsborne, Daniel Josiahen
dc.contributor.committeechairAbiade, Jeremiah T.en
dc.contributor.committeememberHuxtable, Scott T.en
dc.contributor.committeememberHeremans, Jean J.en
dc.contributor.departmentMaterials Science and Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:49:32Zen
dc.date.adate2010-12-28en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:49:32Zen
dc.date.issued2010-12-03en
dc.date.rdate2010-12-28en
dc.date.sdate2010-12-14en
dc.description.abstractThe ability of uniquely functional thermoelectric materials to convert waste heat directly into electricity is critical considering the global energy economy. Profitable, energy-efficient thermoelectrics possess thermoelectric figures of merit ZT ≥ 1. We examined the effect of metal nanoparticle – oxide film interfaces on the thermal conductivity κ and Seebeck coefficient α in bilayer and multilayer thin film oxide thermoelectrics in an effort to improve the dimensionless figure of merit ZT. Since a thermoelectric's figure of merit ZT is inversely proportional to κ and directly proportional to α, reducing κ and increasing α are key strategies to optimize ZT. We aim to reduce κ by phonon scattering due to the inclusion of metal nanoparticles in the bulk of thermoelectric thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition. XRD, AFM, XPS, and TEM analyses were carried out for structural and compositional characterization. The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured by a four-point probe apparatus. The Seebeck coefficients were measured in-plane, varying the temperature from 100K to 310K. The thermal conductivities were measured at room temperature using Time Domain Thermoreflectance.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-12142010-085754en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12142010-085754/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/36133en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartOsborne_DJ_T_2010.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectthermal conductivityen
dc.subjectoxide thin filmen
dc.subjectthermoelectricen
dc.subjectphonon scatteringen
dc.subjectmetal nanoparticleen
dc.titleA Nanoengineering Approach to Oxide Thermoelectrics For Energy Harvesting Applicationsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineMaterials Science and Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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