Issue 4, 2017

Redox reactions by thermally excited charge carriers: towards sensitized thermal cells

Abstract

This study introduces a new type of system for the conversion of heat into electric power that does not require a temperature difference. This system does not rely on the Seebeck effect, and it has a simple layer-by-layer design. It is a sensitized thermal cell based on a dye-sensitized solar cell. This cell uses phonons, which are quantum expressions of heat, instead of photons. The open voltage and short-circuit current of the prototype cell, which is composed of β-FeSi2 as a semiconductor material and a solid copper ion conductor, were confirmed above 300 °C. The acquisition voltage was increased for 5 hours and continuously maintained at this value for at least 35 h, which suggests that this system functioned successfully. These generators enable all semiconductor materials to be applied three-dimensionally as heat sources, for example, in geothermal power plants, by burying the generator in a geothermal source.

Graphical abstract: Redox reactions by thermally excited charge carriers: towards sensitized thermal cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
22 Feb 2017
Accepted
12 May 2017
First published
12 May 2017

Mater. Horiz., 2017,4, 649-656

Redox reactions by thermally excited charge carriers: towards sensitized thermal cells

S. Matsushita, A. Tsuruoka, E. Kobayashi, T. Isobe and A. Nakajima, Mater. Horiz., 2017, 4, 649 DOI: 10.1039/C7MH00108H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements