The effect of morphological modification on the thermoelectric properties of ZnO nanomaterials

At present, huge research efforts are dedicated to improve the efficiency of thermoelectric (TE) materials. Nanostructuring is one of the suggested methods to improve their TE performance. However, the morphology of a nanomaterial might play a significant role on its TE properties. In this work, we demonstrated this effect by producing zinc oxide (ZnO) in two different morphologies using the microwave assisted chemical route. Nanoparticles (NPs) and nanorods (NRs) were synthesised by changing the molar ratios of the starting precursors. The obtained results show that the NRs have improved TE properties compared to those of the NPs, particularly at high temperature. At 673 K the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and power factor values of the ZnO NRs reached -1020 mu V/K, 22 S/m and 23 mu W/m.K-2, respectively. The NPs have only recorded-850 mu V/K, 3 S/m and 2.4 mu W/m.K-2 of these factors. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of the NRs was found to be three times lower than that of the NPs. As a result of these differences the Figure of Merit (zT) value of the NRs is around 0.012, while that of the NPs is only 0.001. Power generation characteristics of single leg modules made of the ZnO NPs and NRs, measured under the conditions of actual applications in an air atmosphere were also investigated. The output power of the ZnO NRs is found to be several times higher than that of the NPs. These results have clearly demonstrated the effect of nanostructures morphology on the TE performance, which might be important for future TE generators.