Investigation of the Peltier Cooling Effect Using Low Cost n-Cu2O and p-Cu2S Semiconductors

Abstract

Thermoelectricity is a branch of Physics which describes the conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy (the Seebeck effect) and vice versa (the Peltier effect). Since early days, tellurium-based alloys and semiconductors have been used for Peltier applications. In this study, electrodeposited n-Cu2O and p-Cu2S semiconductors were used as low cost materials to study the Peltier effect. These semiconductors were stacked electrically in series while thermally in parallel to fabricate a single-stage module or multi-stage modules. When applying low voltage DC power, heat was generated and transferred through the module. There was an observed temperature gradient of 4 �C?mm?1 across the five-stage module at 4.25 V of DC power. This effect can be improved by increasing the input power. Although the module exhibits the presence of both the Peltier and Joule effects, the Peltier effect dominates above an applied voltage of 4.0 V. Results reveal that there is a possibility of fabricating a Peltier device using low cost copper-based semiconductor materials.