Impacts of annealing temperature and time on the thermoelectric performance of recycled carbon fiber (RCF)/n-Bi2Te3 heterostructure thermoelectric composites.

Jagadish, Priyanka; Khalid, Mohammad; Wong, Weng Pin; Phei Li, Lau; Chelvanathan, Puvaneswaran; Walvekar, Rashmi; Mubarak, N.M.; Chan, Andy

Abstract

Recycling carbon fibre waste is crucial for sustainability in the composites industry. Herein, we report the fabrication of a heterostructure composite using recycled carbon fiber (RCF) and n-type bismuth telluride (n-Bi2Te3) for thermoelectric applications. In the present study, we have comprehensively investigated the effects of annealing temperature and time on the thermoelectric, structural, charge carrier transport, morphological, and thermal stability properties of annealed RCF/n-Bi2Te3 composites. The optimum annealing temperature and time were at 350 °C and 2 h, respectively, which yielded a maximum power factor of 7.83 μWK−2m−1. Annealing redistributed the bismuth and tellurium atomic percentage, decreased carrier concentration, improved carrier mobility, enhanced the crystallinity and increased the grain size of the bismuth telluride particles, subsequently improving the thermoelectric performance as well as the thermal stability of annealed RCF/n-Bi2Te3 composites. In addition, this study has explored the plausibility of a cross-plane configured Seebeck coefficient measurement utilizing recycled carbon fibre/n-type bismuth telluride heterostructure thermoelectric composite. Energy band diagram analysis indicated favorable heterojunction alignment between RCF and n-Bi2Te3, validating the viability of the thermoelectric composite in a cross-plane configuration. Our study provides a promising route for closing the recycling loop of carbon fiber waste and achieving sustainable thermoelectric materials.

Citation

JAGADISH, P., KHALID, M., WONG, W.P., PHEI LI. L., CHELVANATHAN, P., WALVEKAR, R., MUBARAK, N.M. and CHAN, A. 2023. Impacts of annealing temperature and time on the thermoelectric performance of recycled carbon fiber (RCF)/n-Bi2Te3 heterostructure thermoelectric composites. ECS journal of solid state science and technology [online], 12(6), article number 061004. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1149/2162-8777/acdd98

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 5, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jun 21, 2023
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 30, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 22, 2024
• Journal: ECS journal of solid state science and technology
• Print ISSN: 2162-8769
• Electronic ISSN: 2162-8777
• Publisher: Electrochemical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 061004
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1149/2162-8777/acdd98
• Keywords: Thermoelectric materials; Composite materials; Carbon fibre waste; Sustainable manufacturing; Thermoelectric; Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3); Annealing; Recycled carbon fibre (RCF); Seebeck coefficient
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1998137