Photo-thermoelectric cells based on pristine α-Al2O3 co-doped CdO, CNTs and their single and bi-layer composites with silicone adhesive

This work describes the fabrication and investigation of photo-thermoelectric cells on the base of pristine α-Al2O3 co-doped CdO (ACCO), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their single (20 wt.%) and bi-layer (10 wt.%) nanocomposites with silicone adhesive. The ACCO was synthesized by solution synthesis technique at room temperature. By using the pristine powders of ACCO and CNTs the thermoelectric units have been fabricated, which allow to create gradient of temperature under effect of light and heat as well. As a result of investigations it was found that the Seebeck coefficients value and sign depend on composition, structure and ratio of the ingredients in the samples. In particular, the effect of composition was observed in bi-layer cells fabricated on the base of ACCO and CNTs composites with silicone adhesive that allows to fabricate thermoelectric reference materials/cells with Seebeck coefficient of zero. The Seebeck coefficients was found on average −70 µV/°C and +40 µV/°C, respectively in the pristine ACCO and pristine CNTs powders, which allows potentially the fabrication of photo-thermoelectric cells for low power generation and temperature gradient measurement instruments.