One form of energy generation that is expected to be on the rise in the next several decades is thermoelectric power generation (TEPG) which converts heat directly to electricity.Compared with other methods,TEPG posse...One form of energy generation that is expected to be on the rise in the next several decades is thermoelectric power generation (TEPG) which converts heat directly to electricity.Compared with other methods,TEPG possesses the salient features of being compact,light-weighted,noiseless in operation,highly reliable, free of carbon dioxide emission and radioactive substances. Low current conversion efficiency and high cost,however,are some of the disadvantages. Use of TEPG is therefore justified to hightech applications associ- ated with aerospace,military operation,tel-communication and navigation,instrumentation of unmanned vehicles moni- tored from remote locations.More-over,TEPG does not con- tribute to the depletion of natural resource and pollution of the environment such as climate warming that has been a concern in recent times.This work is concerned with provid- ing an overview of the state of the art of TEPG with empha- ses placed on assessing its current and potential applica- tion.Pointed out are the ways to fabricate high performance thermoelectric material,a hurdle to overcome for the en- hancement of TEPG device efficiency.展开更多
文摘One form of energy generation that is expected to be on the rise in the next several decades is thermoelectric power generation (TEPG) which converts heat directly to electricity.Compared with other methods,TEPG possesses the salient features of being compact,light-weighted,noiseless in operation,highly reliable, free of carbon dioxide emission and radioactive substances. Low current conversion efficiency and high cost,however,are some of the disadvantages. Use of TEPG is therefore justified to hightech applications associ- ated with aerospace,military operation,tel-communication and navigation,instrumentation of unmanned vehicles moni- tored from remote locations.More-over,TEPG does not con- tribute to the depletion of natural resource and pollution of the environment such as climate warming that has been a concern in recent times.This work is concerned with provid- ing an overview of the state of the art of TEPG with empha- ses placed on assessing its current and potential applica- tion.Pointed out are the ways to fabricate high performance thermoelectric material,a hurdle to overcome for the en- hancement of TEPG device efficiency.
