Improving thermoelectric energy harvesting efficiency by using graphene

Abstract

This study is aimed at enhancing the efficiency of a thermoelectric (TE) energy harvesting system by using a thick graphene layer. This method is a simple yet effective way to increase the temperature gradient across a conventional TE module by accelerating heat dissipation on the cold side of the system. Aqueous dispersions of graphene were used to prepare a 112-mu m thick graphene layer on the cold side of the TE system with aluminum as the substrate material. The maximum efficiency of the proposed system was improved by 25.45 %, as compared to the conventional TE system, which does not have a graphene layer. Additionally, the proposed system shows very little performance deterioration (2.87 %) in the absence of enough air flow on the cold side of the system, compared to the case of the conventional system (10.59 %). Hence, the proposed system, when coupled with the latest research on high performance TE materials, presents a groundbreaking improvement in the practical application of the TE energy harvesting systems. (C) 2016 Author(s)