A Brief Review of CoSb3-based Thermoelectric Materials and Modules for Mid-Temperature Power Generation

중온 발전용 CoSb3계 열전소재 및 모듈화 기술 동향

To solve the global energy problems, investigating renewable and environmentally friendly energy resources has considerable significance. Thermoelectric materials and modules have gained considerable attention because they can directly convert waste heat into electric power while leaving no environmental pollution. The performance of the thermoelectric materials can be determined using the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT. However, trade-off relationships between the thermoelectric parameters (electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity) have hindered significant improvement of ZT over the decades. Therefore, independent control of the charge and phonon transports is of great importance. In this respect, CoSb3–based skutterudites showing PGEC (phonon-glass electron-crystal) properties are considered to be promising thermoelectric materials for mid-temperature power generation. In this paper, we review the current status of research in the fields of CoSb3-based thermoelectric materials and modularization techniques.