Liquid thermoelectric conversion devices composed of several organic solvents
Akihiro Wake, Dai Inoue, Yutaka Moritomo
Abstract
Abstract We evaluated the performances of liquid thermoelectric conversion devices (LTEs) composed of nine organic solvents containing an Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ redox pair against the electrolyte concentration ( m ). In protic solvents, i.e. methanol (Me), ethanol (Et), 1-propanol (Pr), and ethylene glycol (EG), the electrochemical Seebeck coefficient ( α = d V / d T , where V and T are the electrode potential and temperature, respectively) increases with m in the small m region. Based on the ultraviolet—visible absorption spectroscopy, we interpreted the enhancement of α in terms of the OH − and/or H 2 O coordination to Fe 3+ , which was introduced by the crystal water of the solute. At a temperature difference (Δ T ) of 30 K, the maximum value of the power factor of the Me LTE reaches 11.5 μ W K −2 m.