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Towards the practical realization of high-performance Ag2Se-based thermoelectric coolers
Feng Jiang1, Zhengtao Wang1, Wen Zhong1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, P.R. China.
Science and Technology of Advanced Materials
|March 30, 2026
Summary
Silver selenide (Ag2Se) shows great potential for electronic cooling applications. Researchers successfully fabricated Ag2Se-based thermoelectric devices achieving a significant temperature difference for practical cooling.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Solid State Physics
- Thermoelectrics
Background:
- Silver selenide (Ag2Se) materials are recognized for their excellent room-temperature thermoelectric properties and mechanical strength.
- Despite their known potential, the practical fabrication of Ag2Se-based devices for electronic cooling remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize Ag2Se material suitable for thermoelectric device fabrication.
- To evaluate the thermoelectric performance and uniformity of the synthesized Ag2Se.
- To demonstrate the feasibility of Ag2Se-based thermoelectric cooling devices.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of a 25.4 mm diameter Ag2Se sample.
- Characterization of elemental distribution and thermoelectric properties for uniformity assessment.
- Fabrication of Ag/Ag2Se/Ag interfaces and measurement of contact resistivity.
- Construction of four thermoelectric devices using n-type Ag2Se and p-type (Bi, Sb)2Te3.
Main Results:
- Achieved homogeneous elemental distribution and uniform thermoelectric properties in the synthesized Ag2Se.
- Successfully produced approximately 90 Ag/Ag2Se/Ag legs from a single Ag2Se plate.
- Measured interfacial contact resistivity ranging from 0.8 to 3.1 μΩ cm².
- Fabricated thermoelectric devices demonstrated a cooling temperature difference of approximately 56 K at 300 K hot-side temperature.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized Ag2Se material exhibits high uniformity and suitable properties for thermoelectric applications.
- The fabricated Ag2Se-based thermoelectric devices show significant cooling potential.
- Ag2Se is a promising material for practical electronic cooling applications.
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