ICT2014 Abstracts

While there is a large focus on the development of highly efficient thermoelectric materials for high temperature applications, there is also a need to develop thermoelectrics that are sustainable and can be used for low temperature energy harvesting. To help meet the need for low temperature/sustainable thermoelectric materials we have developed CuFeS₂ (chalcopyrite) nanoparticles. Chalcopyrite is a semiconducting chalcogenide material with modest thermoelectric properties that is also sustainable and has the added benefit of being composed of non-toxic elements. We synthesized the chalcopyrite nanoparticles by using a bottom-up wet chemical approach which allows manipulation of the particle composition and structure through the control of metallic feeding ratios. The presentation will focus on the characterization of the unique structural properties of the resulting nanoparticle material as well as the complementary characterization of the thermoelectric properties. The research reveals that the introduction of phase impurities occurring in individual nanoparticles greatly influences the resulting thermoelectric properties. The results will be discussed in terms of the nanoparticle characterization using techniques such as STEM-HAADF, which provides detailed information on the nanoparticle structure as well as the correlated thermoelectric properties characterization of the materials.