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Silicon and rhenium make transverse electricity from heat
A layered crystal of rhenium and silicon can produce electricity at right angles to heat flowing through it, according to Ohio State University.
This is not the first time that ‘transverse thermoelectricity’ has been demonstrated but, according to the researchers, it is the first time it has shown notable efficiency.
It works when the internal structure of the Re
4Si
7 crystal is at a specific angle to the heat flow, causing electrons and holes separate and travel off in opposite directions at right angles to the heat – while in conventional thermoelectric generators the carriers move along the heat flow axis.
Researchers show in a new study that a single material, a layered crystal consisting of the elements rhenium and silicon, turns out to be the gold standard of transverse thermoelectric devices.
Texas A&M University
As the global energy demand continues to grow along with atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO
2), there has been a major push to adopt more sustainable and more carbon-neutral energy sources. Solar/wind power and CO
2 capture – the process of capturing waste CO
2 so it is not introduced into the atmosphere – are two promising pathways for decarbonization, but both have significant drawbacks.
Solar and wind power is intermittent and cannot be deployed everywhere; CO
2 capture processes are incredibly energy-intensive. Both of these pathways have benefits, but each on their own does not present a viable strategy at the moment. However, a research team led by Dr. Faruque Hasan, Kim Tompkins McDivitt ’88 and Phillip McDivitt ’87 Faculty Fellow and associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has uncovered a way to combine both of these processes together to increase the efficiency of both.