Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory: Thermoelectric devices
convert heat into electricity, a useful trick in many fields,
including power generation. However, such devices are typically
expensive to make. A team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory has created a composite of organic and
inorganic thin films from nanocrystals and polymer material.
The result is a thermoelectric material that is more efficient
than its constituent parts and cheaper to make than traditional
thermoelectrics.The new material could affect not only
thermoelectrics research but also
polymerânanocrystal composites that are being
investigated for photovoltaics, batteries, and hydrogen
storage.
