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Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials / GERAINT HOWELLS

Swansea University Author: GERAINT HOWELLS

  • E-Thesis under embargo until: 12th December 2030

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUThesis.71457

Abstract

The inevitable impact of climate change, coupled with the decreasing supply of fossil fuels have highlighted the need for a transition to more sustainable and efficient energy sources. Current technologies including wind and solar can produce the majority of the energy needed, but these rely on exter...

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Published: Swansea University 2025
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: EngD
Supervisor: Carnie, M. J., and Lavery, N.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71457
first_indexed 2026-02-17T13:32:09Z
last_indexed 2026-02-18T05:35:32Z
id cronfa71457
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2026-02-17T13:40:07.2229736 v2 71457 2026-02-17 Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials 393c2919383f001fb36090b70968c69b GERAINT HOWELLS GERAINT HOWELLS true false 2026-02-17 The inevitable impact of climate change, coupled with the decreasing supply of fossil fuels have highlighted the need for a transition to more sustainable and efficient energy sources. Current technologies including wind and solar can produce the majority of the energy needed, but these rely on external factors such as the weather, thus the transition requires a diverse mixture of technologies. To further highlight the need for more efficient energy production, during the generation of energy in industrial processes, such as those found in steel-making approximately 66% of this energy is lost as waste heat.Thermoelectric materials, can take advantage of this waste heat, and increase the overall efficiency of the system in which it stems from by increasing the amount of useful electric per unit of fuel used. Thermoelectric materials are solid state devices, which can convert waste heat directly into electricity by utilising the Seebeck effect. Current thermoelectric materials include elements that are toxic and scarce, whilst the production methods for large scale manufacturing is expensive, both of these factors increase the inherent cost of making thermoelectric materials. This means there is a need for new material and production methods research.This thesis explores tin selenide (SnSe), which is a promising thermoelectric material due to its high figure of merit, offering a potential pathway for waste heat recovery in both industrial and domestic applications. However, at the moment it is only made at laboratory scale using expensive methods. Printing of thermoelectrics, including those made from SnSe can offer a cheap and easily scalable way of production.This thesis is split between two sections, with the first four technical chapters looking at suitable binders for making SnSe thermoelectrics in a pseudo-3D printing and casting fashion. The second part includes the work in the fifth and final technical chapter, where a SnSe based thermoelectric generator prototype was manufactured, achieving peak power outputs of 2.2 mW and 1.6 mW for a single leg and twenty seven leg set up, respectively; making this the highest power output of any reported printed SnSe based thermoelectric generator to date. E-Thesis Swansea University Thermoelectrics, TEG, Tin-Selenide, SnSe, Printed, Prototype 18 11 2025 2025-11-18 10.23889/SUThesis.71457 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Carnie, M. J., and Lavery, N. Doctoral EngD M2A, CoatedM2A, EPSRC, UKRI, Tata steel M2A, CoatedM2A, EPSRC, UKRI, Tata steel 2026-02-17T13:40:07.2229736 2026-02-17T13:19:15.1663961 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering GERAINT HOWELLS 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2026-02-17T13:30:44.4946603 Output 58926702 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2030-12-12T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: the author, Geraint Howells, 2026. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC 4.0). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
title Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials
spellingShingle Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials
GERAINT HOWELLS
title_short Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials
title_full Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials
title_fullStr Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials
title_full_unstemmed Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials
title_sort Additive Layer Manufacturing of Next Generation Thermoelectric Materials
author_id_str_mv 393c2919383f001fb36090b70968c69b
author_id_fullname_str_mv 393c2919383f001fb36090b70968c69b_***_GERAINT HOWELLS
author GERAINT HOWELLS
author2 GERAINT HOWELLS
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUThesis.71457
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering
document_store_str 0
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description The inevitable impact of climate change, coupled with the decreasing supply of fossil fuels have highlighted the need for a transition to more sustainable and efficient energy sources. Current technologies including wind and solar can produce the majority of the energy needed, but these rely on external factors such as the weather, thus the transition requires a diverse mixture of technologies. To further highlight the need for more efficient energy production, during the generation of energy in industrial processes, such as those found in steel-making approximately 66% of this energy is lost as waste heat.Thermoelectric materials, can take advantage of this waste heat, and increase the overall efficiency of the system in which it stems from by increasing the amount of useful electric per unit of fuel used. Thermoelectric materials are solid state devices, which can convert waste heat directly into electricity by utilising the Seebeck effect. Current thermoelectric materials include elements that are toxic and scarce, whilst the production methods for large scale manufacturing is expensive, both of these factors increase the inherent cost of making thermoelectric materials. This means there is a need for new material and production methods research.This thesis explores tin selenide (SnSe), which is a promising thermoelectric material due to its high figure of merit, offering a potential pathway for waste heat recovery in both industrial and domestic applications. However, at the moment it is only made at laboratory scale using expensive methods. Printing of thermoelectrics, including those made from SnSe can offer a cheap and easily scalable way of production.This thesis is split between two sections, with the first four technical chapters looking at suitable binders for making SnSe thermoelectrics in a pseudo-3D printing and casting fashion. The second part includes the work in the fifth and final technical chapter, where a SnSe based thermoelectric generator prototype was manufactured, achieving peak power outputs of 2.2 mW and 1.6 mW for a single leg and twenty seven leg set up, respectively; making this the highest power output of any reported printed SnSe based thermoelectric generator to date.
published_date 2025-11-18T05:35:32Z
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score 11.096522

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