Combination of thermal analysis and Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry for investigation of thermal stability of thermoelectric materials
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Study in the field of thermoelectric materials is of great importance because these materials are able to directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy (Seebeck effect, 1821; thermoelectric generator) and reversibly electrical energy into thermal energy (Peltier effect, 1835; thermoelectric heat pump or Peltier cooling). The research is currently oriented on non-toxic materials with high ZT-levels which can be reached e.g. by nano-structuring. Improvement of thermoelectric materials and production processes concern their thermoelectric properties, their thermodynamic and phase equilibria and also their long term thermal stability, which strongly depends on the content of volatile constituents as the current progressive materials contain elements like Cd, Zn, Sb, Sr etc. Combination of thermal analysis and Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry performed on a Netzsch STA 409 CD/3/403/5/G apparatus, a specially-adapted type of the commercial STA 409 CD - QMS 403/5 Skimmer Coupling Instrument has been used as a powerful tool for investigation of the temperature and phase stability of selected thermoelectric materials with high ZT-levels. The results supported by microstructure observations and measurements of diffusion profiles are reported. |
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