Fabrication of oxide thermoelectric generator element

A prototype oxide thermoelectric element has been fabricated for the first time, for the application of power generation at high temperatures in air. Sintered bodies of Li0.025Ni0.975O(p-type) and Ba0.4Sr0.6PbO3 (n-type) were directly joined under the uniaxial pressure of 4 MPa at 1123 K for 10 h in air. The thermoelectric properties of this coupled element were measured in the temperature range of 440 to 1060 K. This element was stable and showed no appreciable contact resistance at the junction after a thermal cycle of over 1000 K. The output power and efficiency of the coupled element were calculated to be 14 mW and 0.64%, respectively, on the assumption that the temperatures of the hot and cold sides of the clement were 1000 K and 500 K, respectively.