RUNNING HEAD: THERMOELECTRCS 1

Hahnbee Lee

March 8th 2018

Thermoelectrics

Objective:
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Materials and Methods

More research was done to determine the apparatus of the electrodeposition. The

apparatus in the article we were referencing stated that “platinum, Ag/AgCl and SnO2precoated

glass substrates as the counter, reference and working electrodes, respectively was utilized for

the deposition of V2O5 coatings.” We ordered these materials but discovered that when we

would complete the circuit we did not know how to complete the circuit because we were not

sure where one of the alligator clip would be attached to. However, an article titled “Basic

overview of the working principle of a potentiostat/galvanostat (PGSTAT) – Electrochemical

cell setup” written by Metrohm Autolab. This article helped us understand what the counter,

reference, and working electrodes are and what their purpose would be in our experiment.

The counter electrode is the electrode that closes off the circuit, but does not participate

as a part of the reaction. Its sole purpose is to close the circuit. A reference electrode is an

electrode that has a stable and well-known potential and it is used mainly for data collection and

comparison for potential control and measurement.

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Research was also done regarding the current efficiency of thermoelectric devices.

Thermal electricity is a form of green energy that currently has an efficiency of approximately

10% for small devices such as Peltier tiles and 40-50% efficiency for large thermoelectric

devices such as TECs.

Pictures of the Electrodeposition

Figure 2 The closed-circuit system consists of Figure 1 The methanol used for the
a platinum wire for the counter electrode, electrolyte solution.
SnO2 as the working electrode, and a
methanol-vanadium dioxide solution for the
electrolyte.
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Figure 5 The platinum wire connected for
the use of the counter electrode.
Figure 4 The power source here shows a
constant current running through the
circuit which indicates that the circuit is
closed.

Figure 3 The whole system including the

electrolyte solution and the power source.
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Figure 7 The materials used for electrodeposition Figure 6 The electrodeposition in the early times
of the experiment. The blue is seen spreading on
the wire.
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Figure 8 The final look of the electrodeposition shows a wire that is more fully covered in blue
and has a yellow tint to the wire.
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Data and Results

For the experimentation, I was having difficulty finding the specific thermocouple

material needed to compare my new thermocouple to. I decided to talk to Mr. Chouikha’s

Teacher Assistant, Nick Reeves. He has well in-depth knowledge on thermocouples, engineering

in general, and where I could order my materials and he aided me instantly. Two different types

of thermocouples were ordered to compare my new thermocouple to. I ordered a K-type

thermocouple (Figure ) which is the typical thermocouple used in most situations in which a

thermocouple is needed – this was ordered off of Adafruit.

Figure 9 Thermocouple Type-K Glass Braid Insulated – K

Additionally, a fine gage bare wire R-type thermocouple was ordered to also use as a

control test (Figure ). Lastly, to complete my thermocouple, I ordered rhodium wire which is

typically used in phones. I chose rhodium because a platinum rhodium thermocouple pre-exists

and I believed that if I implemented vanadium dioxide it would increase the efficiency.
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Figure 10 Fine Gage Bare Wire Thermocouple Element R

Figure 11 Rhodium Wire used to complete a platinum thermocouple.

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Lastly, to collect the data I purchased a thermocouple amplifier breakout to measure the

current and voltage produced from the thermocouple. Additionally, a heat sink was purchased in

order to ensure that I can provide a constant source of heat during experimentation.

Figure 12 Thermocouple Amplifier Breakout

Figure 13 Heat sink with fan attached to provide a constant source of heat
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References

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Iafolla, V., Nozzoli, S., & Fiorenza, E. (2003). One axis gravity gradiometer for the

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N_Junction_Diodes/I._P-Type%2C_N-Type_Semiconductors

Lee, S., Hippalgaonkar, K., Yang, F., Hong, J., Ko, C., Suh, J., . . . Wu, J. (2017). Anomalously

low electronic thermal conductivity in metallic vanadium dioxide. Science,355(6323),

371-374. doi:10.1126/science.aag0410

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Yang, S. (2017, January 26). For This Metal, Electricity Flows, But Not the Heat | Berkeley Lab.

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