Structure and thermoelectric properties of ZnO-based oxide with highly dispersed nanovoid structure

Abstract

ZnO-based thermoelectric oxide (Zn0.98Al0.02O) with nanoporous (nanovoid) structure was investigated in terms of the preparative conditions of the nanovoids by using monodisperse polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particles of 150, 425, and 1800 nm in average diameter as a void forming agent.The thermal conductivity of the samples with the PMMA particles of 5 – 7 wt% efficiently decreased with keeping the electrical performance almost intact, resulting in the larger Z values for the smaller PMMA amount.