Enhanced thermoelectric properties of carbon fiber reinforced cement composites

Thermoelectric properties of carbon fiber reinforced cement composites (CFRCs) have attracted relevant interest in recent years, due to their fascinating ability for harvesting ambient energy in urban areas and roads, and to the widespread use of cement-based materials in modern society. The enhanced effect of the thin pyrolytic carbon layer (formed at the carbon fiber/cement interface) on transport and thermoelectric properties of CFRCs has been studied. It has been demonstrated that it can enhance the electrical conduction and Seebeck coefficient of CFRCs greatly, resulting in higher power factor 2.08 µW m−1 K−2 and higher thermoelectric figure of merit 3.11×10−3, compared to those reported in the literature and comparable to oxide thermoelectric materials. All CFRCs with pyrolytic carbon layer, exhibit typical semiconductor behavior with activation energy of electrical conduction of 0.228-0.407 eV together with a high Seebeck coefficient. The calculation through Mott’s formula indicates the charge carrier density of CFRCs (1014–1016 cm−3) to be much smaller than that of typical thermoelectric materials and to increase with the carbon layer thickness. CFRCs thermal conductivity is dominated by phonon thermal conductivity, which is kept at a low level by high density of micro/nano-sized defects in the cement matrix that scatter phonons and shorten their mean free path. The appropriate carrier density and mobility induced by the amorphous structure of pyrolytic carbon is primarily responsible for the high thermoelectric figure of merit.