Enhanced thermoelectric effect of cement composite by addition of metallic oxide nanopowders for energy harvesting in buildings

In this paper, metallic oxide nanopowders were incorporated in cement matrix to increase the thermoelectric effect of cement composites. It can be seen from the result that the Seebeck coefficient of these composites increased steadily with metallic oxide content. And the Seebeck coefficients of these composites were measured to be higher than 1000 μV/°C, which were about 10 times higher than that of fiber reinforced cement composites indicated earlier. The increased surface density of the electronic state near the Fermi energy level of the nanostructured metallic oxide is very possibly responsible for the enhanced Seebeck coefficient of the cement composites. The high Seebeck coefficient of this kind of cement composite is important for the potential application in energy harvesting and air-conditioning system of future buildings.