Description
Satisfying the ever-increasing demand for electricity while maintaining sustainability and eco-friendliness has become a key challenge for humanity. Around 70% of energy is rejected as heat from different sectors. Thermoelectric energy harvesting has immense potential to convert this heat into electricity in an environmentally friendly manner. However, low efficiency and high manufacturing costs inhibit the widespread application of thermoelectric devices. In this work, an inexpensive solution processing technique and a nanostructuring approach are utilized to create thermoelectric materials. Specifically, the solution-state and solid-state structure of a lead selenide (PbSe) precursor is characterized by different spectroscopic techniques. This precursor has shown promise for preparing thermoelectric lead selenide telluride (PbSexTe1-x) thin films. The precursor was prepared by reacting lead and diphenyl diselenide in different solvents. The characterization reveals the formation of a solvated lead(II) phenylselenolate complex which deepens the understanding of the formation of these precursors. Further, using slightly different chemistry, a low-temperature tin(II) selenide (SnSe) precursor was synthesized and identified as tin(IV) methylselenolate. The low transformation temperature makes it compatible with colloidal PbSe nanocrystals. The colloidal PbSe nanocrystals were chemically treated with a SnSe precursor and subjected to mild annealing to form conductive nanocomposites. Finally, the room temperature thermoelectric characterization of solution-processed PbSexTe1-x thin films is presented. This is followed by a setup development for temperature-dependent measurements and preliminary temperature-dependent measurements on PbSexTe1-x thin films.
Download count: 2
Details
Title
- Characterization of Solution-processed Metal Chalcogenide Precursor, Thin Film, and Nanocomposite for Thermoelectricity
Contributors
- Vartak, Prathamesh Bhalchandra (Author)
- Wang, Robert Y. (Thesis advisor)
- Wang, Liping (Committee member)
- Trovitch, Ryan J. (Committee member)
- Tongay, Sefaattin (Committee member)
- Goodnick, Stephen M. (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2020
Subjects
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
-
Doctoral Dissertation Materials Science and Engineering 2020