A combination of silicon and multi-walled carbon nanotubes with controllable thermoelectric parameters

Silicon (Si) - multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) composites with controllable thermoelectric properties have been synthesized, which are used as a core material for thermopower wave sources. A thermopower wave results from the coupling of an intense exothermic chemical reaction of a solid fuel with free electrical carriers in conducting or semiconducting materials that produces large bursts of power. Si exhibits a high Seebeck coefficient (~1500 ìV/K), but is rendered inefficient for such sources by its low electrical conductivity. We show that the low electrical conductivity can be increased by introducing MWNTs (106 S/m). In this work, the investigation on the performance of the Si-MWNT based thermopower wave devices is presented, showing that power as large as 4 mW can be obtained.