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- ItemDiscovery of ZrCoBi based half Heuslers with high thermoelectric conversion efficiency(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Zhu, H.; He, R.; Mao, J.; Zhu, Q.; Li, C.; Sun, J.; Ren, W.; Wang, Y.; Liu, Z.; Tang, Z.; Sotnikov, A.; Wang, Z.; Broido, D.; Singh, D.J.; Chen, G.; Nielsch, K.; Ren, Z.Thermoelectric materials are capable of converting waste heat into electricity. The dimensionless figure-of-merit (ZT), as the critical measure for the material's thermoelectric performance, plays a decisive role in the energy conversion efficiency. Half-Heusler materials, as one of the most promising candidates for thermoelectric power generation, have relatively low ZTs compared to other material systems. Here we report the discovery of p-type ZrCoBi-based half-Heuslers with a record-high ZT of ∼1.42 at 973 K and a high thermoelectric conversion efficiency of ∼9% at the temperature difference of ∼500 K. Such an outstanding thermoelectric performance originates from its unique band structure offering a high band degeneracy (N v) of 10 in conjunction with a low thermal conductivity benefiting from the low mean sound velocity (v m ∼2800 m s-1). Our work demonstrates that ZrCoBi-based half-Heuslers are promising candidates for high-temperature thermoelectric power generation.
- ItemContinuous electroosmotic sorting of particles in grooved microchannels(London : Royal Soc. of Chemistry, 2017) Dubov, Alexander L.; Molotilin, Taras Y.; Vinogradova, Olga I.We propose a novel microfluidic fractionation concept suitable for neutrally buoyant micron-sized particles. This approach takes advantage of the ability of grooved channel walls oriented at an angle to the direction of an external electric field to generate a transverse electroosmotic flow. Using computer simulations, we first demonstrate that the velocity of this secondary transverse flow depends on the distance from the wall, so neutrally buoyant particles, depending on their size and initial location, will experience different lateral displacements. We then optimize the geometry and orientation of the surface texture of the channel walls to maximize the efficiency of particle fractionation. Our method is illustrated in a full scale computer experiment where we mimic the typical microchannel with a bottom grooved wall and a source of polydisperse particles that are carried along the channel by the forward electroosmotic flow. Our simulations show that the particle dispersion can be efficiently separated by size even in a channel that is only a few texture periods long. These results can guide the design of novel microfluidic devices for efficient sorting of microparticles.