Development of Carbon Nanotube Based Thermo-cells

Abstract

The current energy crisis all over the world has invoked an all-round world race for sustainable energy research and development. There are many sources of sustainable energy development and low grade heat from various industrial processes, geothermal activity, and from various home appliances and even chimney used in Indian households is a major sustainable energy source. This temperature difference could be very well harnessed to develop useful energy owing to the Seebeck effect. Thermo-cells (otherwise known as Thermo-electrochemical cells or thermo-galvanic cell) is one such device that utilize the temperature dependence of electrochemical redox potentials (i.e., the Seebeck effect) to produce electrical power. For many years the research community has focused on using solid-state thermo electrics and Stirling engines to efficiently harvest low-grade heat as electrical energy. However, despite much progress over the past decades, current thermoelectric energy conversion technology is not very cost-effective and is constrained by physical and material limitations, and Stirling engine technology is disadvantaged by high initial cost and problems with long-term reliability.[1] In this thesis we have attempted to develop a carbon nanotube based thermo cells. The thesis attempts to address the two main problem of current thermo-cell technology of high cost and low efficiency. Carbon nanotubes owing to their excellent thermal and electrical conductivities and low cost have been the material of the choice. The thesis investigates a novel method for low cost carbon nanotube based inkpreparation and we have been successful in filling a patent for the same PATENT APPLICATION SERIAL No. 1293/DEL/2013. The thermo-cell consist of a carbon nanotube thin film anode and a carbon nanotube coated on stainless steel as an cathode.