Fabrication of thermoelectric materials based on interface and structural engineering and its applications

Abstract

Today, the exhaustion of energy sources due to excessive consumption of fossil fuels and environmental pollution in the process of using that energy are recognized as serious social issues. As a solution to this problem, studies on a thermoelectric power generation technology that generates electricity using waste heat generated in the process of using energy regardless of an energy source have been actively conducted. Thermoelectric power generation technology is an energy production technology that generates electricity by generating a potential difference due to a temperature difference at both ends of the material. Recently, with the development of nanotechnology, a method for improving thermoelectric performance through interface and structural engineering has been researched. However, it is still limited to expensive and rare inorganic thermoelectric materials, and to replace it, the development of new interface and structural control technologies should be supported. In this thesis, we intend to develop a high-performance 2D thermoelectric material through interface engineering based on mobile hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (MHW-CVD) technology. It also aims to deal with research on the fabrication of next-generation thermoelectric materials through the development of reliable 3D nanopatterning technology based on proximity filed nanopatterning (PnP), functional materials coating technology, and low-dimensional material infiltration technology. For another promising application that requires the enhanced optical/chemical properties using the geometric advances of the 3D nanostructure, the high-performance puri-sensors for remediation of environmental pollutants based on the 3D nanostructured semiconducting oxide that can effectively utilize gas dynamics and light absorption is demonstrated.