Thermoelectric conversion material

摘要

The present invention provides a thermoelectric conversion material of which the structure is controlled to have nano-order microscopic pores and which has a low thermal conductivity and has an improved thermoelectric performance index. In the thermoelectric conversion material having a thermoelectric semiconductor layer formed on a block copolymer substrate that comprises a block copolymer having microscopic pores, wherein the block copolymer comprises a polymer unit (A) formed of a monomer capable of forming a homopolymer having a glass transition temperature of 50° C. or higher, and a polymer unit (B) formed of a conjugated dienic polymer.

主权项

1. A thermoelectric conversion material, comprising:
a non-contiguous thermoelectric semiconductor layer present on a block copolymer substrate that comprises a block copolymer and has microscopic pores within the block copolymer substrate, wherein the block copolymer comprises a polymer unit (A) comprised of at least one unit selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, an o-polymethylstyrene, a p-polymethylstyrene, a polypropylstyrene, a polymethoxystyrene, a polymethyl methacrylate, a polyethyl methacrylate, a poly-t-butyl methacrylate, a polycyclohexyl methacrylate, a polybenzyl methacrylate, a poly-2-vinylpyridine, and a poly-4-vinylpyridine, said polymer unit (A) having a glass transition temperature of 50° C. or higher, and a polymer unit (B) comprised of a conjugated dienic polymer, wherein the non-contiguous thermoelectric semiconductor layer has a first portion of the layer that only partially fills the microscopic pores of the block copolymer substrate and is present in an inner bottom portion of the microscopic pores of the block copolymer substrate, wherein the non-contiguous thermoelectric semiconductor layer has a second portion of the layer that is present on the top of the block copolymer substrate, wherein the microscopic pores have a depth of from 5 to 1,000 nm and have a mean diameter of from 5 to 1,000 nm, wherein a mean distance between the microscopic pores is from 10 to 1,500 nm, wherein the first portion of the non-contiguous thermoelectric semiconductor layer has a thickness of from 5 to 200 nm, and wherein the second portion of the non-contiguous thermoelectric semiconductor layer has a thickness of from 10 to 500 nm.