Enhanced thermoelectric effect of carbon fiber reinforced cement composites by metallic oxide/cement interface

Thermoelectric power of carbon fiber reinforced cement composites was firstly enhanced efficiently by metallic oxide microparticles in the cement matrix. The absolute Seebeck coefficient of these composites increased steadily with increasing metallic oxide content and achieved 4-5 folds of the original one. The largest absolute thermoelectric power of +100.28 mu V/degrees C was obtained for the composite with 5.0 wt% Bi2O3 microparticles. The carrier scattering of the interface between oxide microparticles and cement matrix is probably attributed to the Seebeck effect enhancement. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.