With thermoelectric materials, there is a trade-off between thermopower (the voltage obtained when subjecting a material to heat) and electrical conductivity because thermopower decreases with increased conductivity. The researchers discovered, however, that with carbon nanotubes you can maintain large amount of thermopower even at very high electric levels.
According to a report from Clean Technica, Blackburn did not want to “put an exact time frame on when devices will be in the market,” but did say they are “working on a number of strategies to further improve the thermoelectric figure of merit by increasing the power factor and decreasing the thermal conductivity.”
For more information, read the full study “Tailored Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Networks with Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties.”
