Thermoelectric material, thermoelectric conversion element, and module group composed of combination of thermoelectric conversion elements and pi-type module group made of thermoelectric material and pi-type module group made of thermoelectric material other than such pi-type module group

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to create a thermoelectric conversion system in which the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric material is close to the Carnot efficiency, such thermoelectric material containing a "module group composed of a combination of thermoelectric conversion elements". The invention reduces as much as possible the thermal conductivity from anything other than a space portion or a working substance able to move inside a thermoelectric conversion element due to a connected space portion, in a new generation of thermoelectric materials which comprise a "module group composed of a combination of thermoelectric conversion elements", and which are thermoelectric materials that do not suffer damage from a load or heat retention and that are composed of thermoelectric conversion elements that do not suffer damage from a load or heat retention. The invention comprises reforming thermoelectric material surfaces sandwiching a space, or surfaces facing this thermoelectric material, to make an interface that is suitable for power generation, cooling, and heating operation. The purpose of the present invention is to produce an interspecific module superior to a "module group composed of a combination of thermoelectric conversion elements" and in contact with three or more different heat bath sources at room temperature or the like, and to produce a thermoelectric conversion system that comprises this module and has a thermoelectric conversion efficiency close to the Carnot efficiency.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention is directly related to the method of conversion between thermal energy and electrical energy. Background technique [0002] Electric systems that convert thermal energy into electrical energy include thermoelectric systems using thermoelectric materials, thermionic systems, and / or other systems, among others. In the inverse conversion process using thermoelectric materials as thermoelectric systems, thermoelectric materials are also used as cooling systems. Thermoelectric materials and thermoelectric conversion elements defined in PTL 1 and PTL 2 are materials that utilize current transport phenomena with respect to electric current and heat transfer through effective use. In thermoelectric materials (TM) and thermoelectric conversion elements (TCE) (hereinafter, for simplicity, TM and / or thermoelectric materials made of TM and TCE are simply referred to as thermoelectric materials), the current carrying the current transport phe...

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Problems solved by technology

Although a ceramic plate was used to firmly press the external parts of the instrument to the low-temperature heat source, it was found that through direct transmission and reception between the high-temperature heat source and the instrument electrodes, the electrodes of the instrument were not in contact but were directly exposed to the high-temperature conversion method (NPL 20)

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