Impact of Graphene or Reduced Graphene Oxide on Performance of Thermoelectric Composites

Abstract

In recent years, worldwide research has been focused on clean and sustainable energy sources that can respond to the exponentially rising energy demands of humankind. The harvesting of unused heat in relation to automotive exhaustion, industrial processes, and home heating is one possible way of enabling the transformation from a fossil fuel-based society to a low-carbon socioeconomic epoch. Thermoelectric (TE) generators can convert heat to electrical energy thanks to high-performance TE materials that work via Seebeck effects when electricity appears between the cold part and the hot part of these materials. High figure of merit (ZT) TE material is characterized by high electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, together with low thermal conductivity. This article aims to summarize ZT values reported for chalcogenides, skutterudites, and metal oxides with graphene (G) or reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and intends to understand the relationship between the addition of G-rGO to composites and ZT variation. In a majority of the publications, ZT value increases with the addition of G/rGO, although the relative growth of ZT varies for different material families, as well as inside the same group of materials, with it often being related not to a G/rGO amount but with the quality of the composite.