The present disclosure is related to thermoelectric panels and their use in cooling and heating systems. The cooling/heating systems may include a cylindrical plurality of thermoelectric panels. The panels may include thermoelectric devices embedded between a housing formed by heat conductive layers and edge structures for preserve a low thermal conductivity volume.

Thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposite material that includes at least one component consisting of nanocrystals. A TE nanocomposite material in accordance with the present invention can include, but is not limited to, multiple nanocrystalline structures, nanocrystal networks or partial networks, or multi-component materials, with some components forming connected interpenetrating networks including nanocrystalline networks. The TE nanocomposite material can be in the form of a bulk solid having semiconductor nanocrystallites that form an electrically conductive network within the material. In other embodiments, the TE nanocomposite material can be a nanocomposite thermoelectric material having one network of p-type or n-type semiconductor domains and a low thermal conductivity semiconductor or dielectric network or domains separating the p-type or n-type domains that provides efficient phonon scattering to reduce thermal conductivity while maintaining the electrical properties of the p-type or n-type semiconductor.

The present disclosure is related to structures for and methods for producing thermoelectric devices. The thermoelectric devices include multiple stages of thermoelements. Each stage includes alternating n-type and p-type thermoelements. The stages are sandwiched between upper and lower sets of metal links fabricated on a pair of substrate layers. The metal links electrically connect pairs of n-type and p-type thermoelements from each stage. There may be additional sets of metal links between the multiple stages. The individual thermoelements may be sized to handle differing amounts of electric current to optimize performance based on their location within the multistage device.

A thermoelectric conversion element includes a first thermoelectric conversion module and a first substrate including a first main face and a second main face, a first electrode provided on the first main face, a first n-type thermoelectric conversion layer, a first p-type thermoelectric conversion layer in contact with the first n-type thermoelectric conversion layer, and a second electrode, and a sealing layer provided on the first main face. Each of the pair of sheet members of the thermoelectric conversion element includes a first high thermal conduction portion, a second high thermal conduction portion, and a low thermal conduction portion. The first electrode, the first n-type thermoelectric conversion layer, the first p-type thermoelectric conversion layer, and the second electrode are arranged in order along the alignment direction.

[Object] To provide a thermoelectric material that reduces, when a thermoelectric conversion module is formed therefrom, contact resistance with an electrode and will not be peeled; the thermoelectric conversion module using the thermoelectric material; a method of producing the same, and a Peltier device.

[Solving Means] A thermoelectric material according to the present invention includes a thermoelectric substance and a solvent, and the solvent has a vapor pressure of 0 Pa or more and 1.5 Pa or less at 25° C., has a storage elastic modulus G′ in a range of 1×10.sup.1 Pa or more and 4×10.sup.6 Pa or less, and has a loss elastic modulus G″ in a range of 5 Pa or more and 4×10.sup.6 Pa or less.

The present invention provides a thermoelectric conversion module which can utilize sunlight and solar heat by using high output charge-transport-type thermoelectric conversion elements. The present invention provides A thermoelectric conversion module which comprises at least a thermoelectric conversion module-element in which charge-transport-type thermoelectric conversion elements are formed and a photothermal conversion substrate containing photothermal conversion material, wherein the thermoelectric conversion module-element comprises an insulating substrate, and n-type and/or p-type charge-transport-type thermoelectric conversion elements are formed on the insulating substrate, wherein the charge-transport-type thermoelectric conversion element comprises a charge transport layer and thermoelectric conversion material layers and electrodes, wherein the photothermal conversion substrate is disposed so that it absorbs external light and converts it into heat and transfers the heat to the electrodes or the thermoelectric conversion material layers disposed on the charge transport layers.

A semiconductor sintered body comprising a polycrystalline body, wherein the polycrystalline body comprises magnesium silicide or an alloy containing magnesium silicide, and the average grain size of the crystal grains constituting the polycrystalline body is 1 μm or less, and the electrical conductivity is 10,000 S/m or higher.

The present disclosure relates to an energy conversion material including: a pair of 2-dimensional active layers; and a property control layer positioned between the 2-dimensional active layers, and the property control layer is changed in any one or more of structure and state depending on an external environmental factor and performs reversible switching between the 2-dimensional active layers.

A thermoelectric conversion material consists of a non-doped sintered body of a magnesium-based compound, in which an electric resistance value is 1.0×10.sup.−4 Ω.Math.m or less. The magnesium-based compound is preferably one or more selected from a MgSi-based compound, a MgSn-based compound, a MgSiSn-based compound, and a MgSiGe-based compound.

Provided is an easy-to-process thermoelectric conversion device whose shape can be freely changed. The device is provided containing electrodes and an ionic solid, wherein the ionic solid has: an anionic heterometal complex aggregated to form a crystal lattice; and a cationic species present in interstices of the crystal lattice, and wherein the anionic heterometal complex includes: a metal M1 selected from the group consisting of the elements of Groups 8, 9 and 10 of the Periodic Table and Cr and Mn; a metal M2 selected from the group consisting of the elements of Groups 11 and 12 of the Periodic Table; and a ligand.