The research group of Professor Moritomo Hiroshi of the University of Tsukuba created an ion battery type thermal power generation cell in which "cobalt pull champagne analog" is placed on the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and realized thermal power generation in a temperature cycle of 28 ° C and 50 ° C. ..This technology converts unused heat energy near room temperature into electric power at low cost, so it is regarded as a trump card for global warming countermeasures.
In every aspect of human society, heat energy near room temperature is released to the outside world.This technology for converting waste heat into energy contributes to the realization of a low-carbon society with reduced power consumption, and is said to provide mobile power generation, which is the basic technology of a smart society.
Ion secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries store energy by changing the internal energy of a substance with electrical energy.The research group thought that heat energy could be converted into electrical energy by changing the internal energy of a substance using heat energy.In other words, if you create an "ion battery type thermoelectric power generation cell" in which materials with different thermoelectromotive forces are placed on the positive and negative electrodes, the electromotive force of the cell will be generated as the temperature changes, and power can be taken out without charging (thermal power generation). ) Is the principle.
This time, we created a thermal power generation cell in which cobalt-Pulsian blue analogs (Note) with different thermoelectromotive forces were placed on the positive and negative electrodes, and succeeded in extracting power in temperature cycles of 28 ° C and 50 ° C.The thermal efficiency of this power generation is 1%, and its efficiency approaches 11% of the theoretical efficiency.This thermoelectric cell technology is a diversion of the existing secondary battery technology, and can be developed and manufactured at low cost.
Technology development that effectively utilizes unused heat energy near room temperature is indispensable for global warming countermeasures.In the future, the company plans to search for and develop materials that exhibit higher thermoelectromotive force, aiming to develop and commercialize highly efficient thermoelectric power generation cells.
(Note) Prussian blue is a type of blue pigment.Its analogs have received a lot of attention due to their various useful properties.
Paper information:[Applied Physics Express] Thermal power generation during heat cycle near room temperature
