High Seebeck Coefficient Electrochemical Thermocells for Efficient Waste Heat Recovery

An electrochemical thermocell realizes thermal to electric energy conversion when two electrodes operate the same reversible reaction but at different temperatures. Its Seebeck coefficient is determined by the entropy change of the redox reaction. Here we report a thermocell containing acetone and iso-propanol as the redox couple, which can achieve the highest reported Seebeck coefficient of -9.9 mV K-1 when the hot side is above the boiling point of acetone. Vaporization entropy of acetone increases the total entropy change in the conversion of iso-propanol to acetone. In addition, a concentration gradient of acetone caused by evaporation and condensation increases the cell voltage significantly. Stable performance of the thermocell is enabled by a Pt-Sn catalyst operating in a neutral pH electrolyte solution. The possibility of utilizing a liquid-gas phase change to increase the Seebeck coefficient of thermocells opens a new venue for exploration.