Nanostructures, nanocomposites and thin films for harvesting thermal energy

Designed a home-made set up for high temperature Seebeck and electrical resistivity measurements of thermoelectric materials. The hydrothermally synthesized bismuth telluride and Multi wall carbon nano tube based nanocomposite (Bi₂Te₃–MWCNT) demonstrated enhanced figure of merit (ZT) as compared to bare Bi₂Te₃ nanostructure sample. The improvement in the thermoelectric properties of Bi₂Te₃–MWCNT is attributed to the higher mobility and enhanced phonon scattering at the interfaces in the nanocomposite sample.