The rapid growth of global population and industrialization has led to a surge in energy demand, while improper disposal of waste is causing significant environmental issues. Finding alternative energy sources and reducing energy consumption have become urgent matters. Thermoelectric technology, as an efficient, clean, and renewable energy conversion method, is gaining increasing attention from the scientific community.
Ady Suwardi's research career around thermoelectric technology began during his undergraduate studies, when he synthesized an inorganic thermoelectric material through melt spinning, which was also his first exposure to the field of thermoelectrics. Now as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), his research group primarily focuses on thermoelectric materials and devices, exploring how to convert waste electronic products into useful materials and enhance the thermoelectric performance of these materials through innovative technologies.
The beauty of thermoelectrics lies in their ability to convert heat into electricity, and also as a heat pump to convert electricity into refrigeration. As electronic devices become increasingly miniaturized, the potential for thermoelectrics becomes increasingly significant due to their ability to harvest ambient energy.
He and his team have conducted extensive research in the field of thermoelectric materials, including materials synthesis, processing technologies, the physics of electronic and thermal transport, and thermoelectric devices for ambient energy harvesting.
In a previous project, Ady’s team developed an innovative method to upcycle non-purified silicon solar cells into valuable thermoelectric materials. By introducing phosphorus and germanium doping, they successfully converted non-purified silicon into thermoelectric materials with a figure of merit zT of 0.45. This approach offers both environmental and economic value and provides a new avenue for addressing environmental and energy challenges simultaneously.
Additionally, they developed new thermoelectric materials using advanced processes like 3D printing, especially focusing on the high-performance engineering of 3D-printed porous thermoelectric materials. These practices successfully achieved environmentally friendly and efficient energy conversion.