Issue. Thermoelectric technology that allows the recovery of wasted heat at low temperatures is still in its infancy. One of the reasons for the slow take-up of thermoelectric technology is the manufacturing cost, which includes costly materials, waste, and cumbersome manufacturing processes. Additionally, the recovery of the heat below 100 °C is still ineffective. The project aimed to develop solution-processable thermoelectric materials, to yield highly efficient thermoelectric generators at a low-temperature regime.
Impact. The development of new high-performance materials could lead to the creation of efficient devices for transforming waste heat into electricity. Recycling this heat would make society more sustainable. The results obtained could also be exploited to design flexible thermal sensors to be integrated into e-skin (e.g. smart prosthesis). The study of charge transport phenomena in quasi-0D perovskites will provide new stimuli to the research sector.
Overall objectives. HYPERTHERM aimed to advance the quasi-0D hybrid perovskites by controlling their composition, doping and nanostructure. Moreover, the materials have been designed to be solution assembled, using easily accessible components, and deposited by automated printing processes with a high reduction of the manufacturing costs.