{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36133"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36133","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A Nanoengineering Approach to Oxide Thermoelectrics For Energy Harvesting Applications","abstract":"The ability of uniquely functional thermoelectric materials to convert waste heat directly into electricity is critical considering the global energy economy. Profitable, energy-efficient thermoelectrics possess thermoelectric figures of merit ZT ≥ 1. We examined the effect of metal nanoparticle – oxide film interfaces on the thermal conductivity κ and Seebeck coefficient α in bilayer and multilayer thin film oxide thermoelectrics in an effort to improve the dimensionless figure of merit ZT. Since a thermoelectric's figure of merit ZT is inversely proportional to κ and directly proportional to α, reducing κ and increasing α are key strategies to optimize ZT. We aim to reduce κ by phonon scattering due to the inclusion of metal nanoparticles in the bulk of thermoelectric thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition. XRD, AFM, XPS, and TEM analyses were carried out for structural and compositional characterization. The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured by a four-point probe apparatus. The Seebeck coefficients were measured in-plane, varying the temperature from 100K to 310K. The thermal conductivities were measured at room temperature using Time Domain Thermoreflectance.","abstract_html":"The ability of uniquely functional thermoelectric materials to convert waste heat directly into electricity is critical considering the global energy economy. Profitable, energy-efficient thermoelectrics possess thermoelectric figures of merit ZT ≥ 1. We examined the effect of metal nanoparticle – oxide film interfaces on the thermal conductivity κ and Seebeck coefficient α in bilayer and multilayer thin film oxide thermoelectrics in an effort to improve the dimensionless figure of merit ZT. Since a thermoelectric's figure of merit ZT is inversely proportional to κ and directly proportional to α, reducing κ and increasing α are key strategies to optimize ZT. We aim to reduce κ by phonon scattering due to the inclusion of metal nanoparticles in the bulk of thermoelectric thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition. XRD, AFM, XPS, and TEM analyses were carried out for structural and compositional characterization. The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured by a four-point probe apparatus. The Seebeck coefficients were measured in-plane, varying the temperature from 100K to 310K. The thermal conductivities were measured at room temperature using Time Domain Thermoreflectance.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Osborne, Daniel Josiah"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Materials Science and Engineering","degree_department":"Materials Science and Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Abiade, Jeremiah T."],"committee_members":["Huxtable, Scott T.","Heremans, Jean J."],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-12-03","date_published":"2010-12-03","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:13Z","subjects":["thermal conductivity","oxide thin film","thermoelectric","phonon scattering","metal nanoparticle"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-12142010-085754"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-12142010-085754","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36133","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Abiade, Jeremiah T."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Huxtable, Scott T.","Heremans, Jean J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Materials Science and Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Osborne, Daniel Josiah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:49:32Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:49:32Z","2010-12-28"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2010-12-03"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Materials Science and Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["thermal conductivity","oxide thin film","thermoelectric","phonon scattering","metal nanoparticle"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-12142010-085754"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36133"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The ability of uniquely functional thermoelectric materials to convert waste heat directly into electricity is critical considering the global energy economy. Profitable, energy-efficient thermoelectrics possess thermoelectric figures of merit ZT ≥ 1. We examined the effect of metal nanoparticle – oxide film interfaces on the thermal conductivity κ and Seebeck coefficient α in bilayer and multilayer thin film oxide thermoelectrics in an effort to improve the dimensionless figure of merit ZT. Since a thermoelectric's figure of merit ZT is inversely proportional to κ and directly proportional to α, reducing κ and increasing α are key strategies to optimize ZT. We aim to reduce κ by phonon scattering due to the inclusion of metal nanoparticles in the bulk of thermoelectric thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition. XRD, AFM, XPS, and TEM analyses were carried out for structural and compositional characterization. The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured by a four-point probe apparatus. The Seebeck coefficients were measured in-plane, varying the temperature from 100K to 310K. The thermal conductivities were measured at room temperature using Time Domain Thermoreflectance."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Nanoengineering Approach to Oxide Thermoelectrics For Energy Harvesting Applications"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Abiade, Jeremiah T."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Huxtable, Scott T.","Heremans, Jean J."],"dc:contributor.department":["Materials Science and Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Osborne, Daniel Josiah"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:49:32Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:49:32Z","2010-12-28"],"dc:date.issued":["2010-12-03"],"dc:description.abstract":["The ability of uniquely functional thermoelectric materials to convert waste heat directly into electricity is critical considering the global energy economy. Profitable, energy-efficient thermoelectrics possess thermoelectric figures of merit ZT ≥ 1. We examined the effect of metal nanoparticle – oxide film interfaces on the thermal conductivity κ and Seebeck coefficient α in bilayer and multilayer thin film oxide thermoelectrics in an effort to improve the dimensionless figure of merit ZT. Since a thermoelectric's figure of merit ZT is inversely proportional to κ and directly proportional to α, reducing κ and increasing α are key strategies to optimize ZT. We aim to reduce κ by phonon scattering due to the inclusion of metal nanoparticles in the bulk of thermoelectric thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition. XRD, AFM, XPS, and TEM analyses were carried out for structural and compositional characterization. The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured by a four-point probe apparatus. The Seebeck coefficients were measured in-plane, varying the temperature from 100K to 310K. The thermal conductivities were measured at room temperature using Time Domain Thermoreflectance."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-12142010-085754"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36133"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["thermal conductivity","oxide thin film","thermoelectric","phonon scattering","metal nanoparticle"],"dc:title":["A Nanoengineering Approach to Oxide Thermoelectrics For Energy Harvesting Applications"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Materials Science and Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:13Z"}