Ruthenium-Doped Thermoelectric Materials

Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a novel thermoelectric material that raises the bar for solid-state power conversion devices. There is growing momentum in the aerospace and automotive industries to harvest energy from heat (such as exhaust from combustion) but advances have been hampered by the lack of environmental durability and performance levels of thermoelectric materials currently in use. Glenn's breakthrough material is a ruthenium-doped gadolinium orthotantalate that excels at directly converting heat into energy. More importantly, this material does not break down at higher temperatures or air environments, even without special coatings or inert packaging. Glenn's material enables designers to make great strides in developing solid-state power conversion devices for applications in aerospace, automotive, and power-generation industries.