Porous Thermoelectric Materials

Thermoelectric materials are sometimes prepared using a sintering process in which the achievement of a high density is often one of the objectives. However, it has recently been shown that the introduction of a highly porous material is desirable in synthetic transverse thermoelements. Porosity may also be an advantage in conventional longitudinal thermoelectric modules in which a high thermal flux density creates problems, but heat transfer within the pores can degrade the thermoelectric figure of merit. The amount of this degradation is calculated and it is shown that it can be small enough to be acceptable in practical devices.