---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '19364'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) are pivotal in modern heat management but face
    limitations in efficiency and manufacturing scalability. We address these challenges
    by using an extrusion-based 3D printing technique to fabricate high-performance
    thermoelectric materials. Our ink formulations ensure the integrity of the 3D-printed
    structure and effective particle bonding during sintering, achieving record-high
    figure of merit (zT) values of 1.42 for p-type bismuth antimony telluride [(Bi,Sb)2Te3]
    and 1.3 for n-type silver selenide (Ag2Se) materials at room temperature. The
    resulting TEC demonstrates a cooling temperature gradient of 50°C in air. Moreover,
    this scalable and cost-effective method circumvents energy-intensive and time-consuming
    steps, such as ingot preparation and subsequently machining processes, offering
    a transformative solution for thermoelectric device production and heralding a
    new era of efficient and sustainable thermoelectric technologies.
acknowledged_ssus:
- _id: EM-Fac
- _id: LifeSc
- _id: M-Shop
- _id: NanoFab
acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Scientific Service Units (SSU) of
  ISTA through resources provided by the Electron Microscopy Facility (EMF), the Lab
  Support Facility (LSF), the Communication & Events facility, the Miba Machine Shop,
  and the Nanofabrication Facility (NNF). The Mechanical Response of Materials (MRM)
  Service Unit of the Technical University of Wien is acknowledged for Mechanical
  tests. X. L. Yan and S. Bühler-Paschen (Institute of Solid-State Physics, Technical
  University of Wien) are acknowledged for granting us access to their equipment,
  which allowed us to perform independent corroborative measurements. M. Qin is acknowledged
  for help with Au deposition and wire bonding for samples used for PPMS measurements.
  The lab of B. Hof and Z. Lu is acknowledged for help with rheological properties
  measurements. The members of the Ibáñez research group, especially N. Jakhar, C.
  Fiedler, and T. Kleinhanns, are acknowledged for their feedback on the manuscript
  and fruitful discussions. This work was financially supported by ISTA and the Werner
  Siemens Foundation.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Shengduo
  full_name: Xu, Shengduo
  id: 12ab8624-4c8a-11ec-9e11-e1ac2438f22f
  last_name: Xu
- first_name: Sharona
  full_name: Horta, Sharona
  id: 03a7e858-01b1-11ec-8b71-99ae6c4a05bc
  last_name: Horta
- first_name: Abayomi Q
  full_name: Lawal, Abayomi Q
  id: 5bdaf946-5355-11ee-ae5a-8061700bd605
  last_name: Lawal
- first_name: Krishnendu
  full_name: Maji, Krishnendu
  id: 76bc9e9f-ba0b-11ee-8184-90edabd17a58
  last_name: Maji
- first_name: Magali
  full_name: Lorion, Magali
  id: bc07ac4d-142e-11eb-a9d5-d72db792859d
  last_name: Lorion
- first_name: Maria
  full_name: Ibáñez, Maria
  id: 43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Ibáñez
  orcid: 0000-0001-5013-2843
citation:
  ama: Xu S, Horta S, Lawal AQ, Maji K, Lorion M, Ibáñez M. Interfacial bonding enhances
    thermoelectric cooling in 3D-printed materials. <i>Science</i>. 2025;387(6736):845-850.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads0426">10.1126/science.ads0426</a>
  apa: Xu, S., Horta, S., Lawal, A. Q., Maji, K., Lorion, M., &#38; Ibáñez, M. (2025).
    Interfacial bonding enhances thermoelectric cooling in 3D-printed materials. <i>Science</i>.
    AAAS. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads0426">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads0426</a>
  chicago: Xu, Shengduo, Sharona Horta, Abayomi Q Lawal, Krishnendu Maji, Magali Lorion,
    and Maria Ibáñez. “Interfacial Bonding Enhances Thermoelectric Cooling in 3D-Printed
    Materials.” <i>Science</i>. AAAS, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads0426">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads0426</a>.
  ieee: S. Xu, S. Horta, A. Q. Lawal, K. Maji, M. Lorion, and M. Ibáñez, “Interfacial
    bonding enhances thermoelectric cooling in 3D-printed materials,” <i>Science</i>,
    vol. 387, no. 6736. AAAS, pp. 845–850, 2025.
  ista: Xu S, Horta S, Lawal AQ, Maji K, Lorion M, Ibáñez M. 2025. Interfacial bonding
    enhances thermoelectric cooling in 3D-printed materials. Science. 387(6736), 845–850.
  mla: Xu, Shengduo, et al. “Interfacial Bonding Enhances Thermoelectric Cooling in
    3D-Printed Materials.” <i>Science</i>, vol. 387, no. 6736, AAAS, 2025, pp. 845–50,
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads0426">10.1126/science.ads0426</a>.
  short: S. Xu, S. Horta, A.Q. Lawal, K. Maji, M. Lorion, M. Ibáñez, Science 387 (2025)
    845–850.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-03-09T23:01:26Z
date_published: 2025-02-20T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-28T13:43:53Z
day: '20'
department:
- _id: MaIb
doi: 10.1126/science.ads0426
external_id:
  isi:
  - '001514422600026'
  pmid:
  - '39977506'
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads0426
intvolume: '       387'
isi: 1
issue: '6736'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '02'
oa_version: None
page: 845-850
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 9B8F7476-BA93-11EA-9121-9846C619BF3A
  name: 'HighTE: The Werner Siemens Laboratory for the High Throughput Discovery of
    Semiconductors for Waste Heat Recovery'
publication: Science
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1095-9203
publication_status: published
publisher: AAAS
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
  link:
  - description: News on ISTA website
    relation: press_release
    url: https://ista.ac.at/en/news/cooling-materials-out-of-the-3d-printer/
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Interfacial bonding enhances thermoelectric cooling in 3D-printed materials
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 387
year: '2025'
...
---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '18965'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "A thermoelectric cooler is a solid-state device that transfers heat from
    one side to another when an electrical current passes through it. This technology
    is appealing because it can provide precise and localized cooling and heating
    without using hazardous liquids or gases commonly found in traditional vapor compression
    refrigeration. These devices are compact, customizable in size, work in any orientation,
    operate noiselessly, and require minimal maintenance. Even though thermoelectric
    coolers could be transformative for many advanced thermal management applications,
    their widespread adoption is hindered by the low efficiency of the thermoelectric
    materials and costly manufacturing processes.\r\n In this work, we use extrusion-based
    3D printing techniques to fabricate high-performance thermoelectric materials
    using nanomaterial-based ink. The ink formulation is optimized to ensure structural
    integrity and particle interfacial bonding during annealing, providing p- and
    n-type materials with record-high zT values of 1.46 and 1.35 at room temperature,
    respectively. Moreover, we integrate the printed materials into a 32-pair device
    and achieve a significant cooling temperature gradient of 50 °C and a coefficient
    of performance of 3.8, comparable to best-performing thermoelectric coolers, avoiding
    material waste, and the energy-intense and inefficient steps, such as high-temperature
    synthesis, pressure-assisted sintering, and cutting and dicing ingots, commonly
    used in conventional manufacturing processes."
acknowledgement: All authors acknowledge financial support from the Werner Siemens
  Foundation
article_number: '222'
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Maria
  full_name: Ibáñez, Maria
  id: 43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Ibáñez
  orcid: 0000-0001-5013-2843
- first_name: Shengduo
  full_name: Xu, Shengduo
  id: 12ab8624-4c8a-11ec-9e11-e1ac2438f22f
  last_name: Xu
- first_name: Sharona
  full_name: Horta, Sharona
  id: 03a7e858-01b1-11ec-8b71-99ae6c4a05bc
  last_name: Horta
- first_name: Abayomi Q
  full_name: Lawal, Abayomi Q
  id: 5bdaf946-5355-11ee-ae5a-8061700bd605
  last_name: Lawal
citation:
  ama: 'Ibáñez M, Xu S, Horta S, Lawal AQ. High-performance thermoelectric cooler
    fabricated vith extrusion-based 3D printing materials. In: <i>Proceedings of the
    Materials for Sustainable Development Conference</i>. Fundació de la comunitat
    valenciana SCITO; 2024. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222">10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222</a>'
  apa: 'Ibáñez, M., Xu, S., Horta, S., &#38; Lawal, A. Q. (2024). High-performance
    thermoelectric cooler fabricated vith extrusion-based 3D printing materials. In
    <i>Proceedings of the Materials for Sustainable Development Conference</i>. Lausanne,
    Switzerland: Fundació de la comunitat valenciana SCITO. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222">https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222</a>'
  chicago: Ibáñez, Maria, Shengduo Xu, Sharona Horta, and Abayomi Q Lawal. “High-Performance
    Thermoelectric Cooler Fabricated Vith Extrusion-Based 3D Printing Materials.”
    In <i>Proceedings of the Materials for Sustainable Development Conference</i>.
    Fundació de la comunitat valenciana SCITO, 2024. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222">https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222</a>.
  ieee: M. Ibáñez, S. Xu, S. Horta, and A. Q. Lawal, “High-performance thermoelectric
    cooler fabricated vith extrusion-based 3D printing materials,” in <i>Proceedings
    of the Materials for Sustainable Development Conference</i>, Lausanne, Switzerland,
    2024.
  ista: 'Ibáñez M, Xu S, Horta S, Lawal AQ. 2024. High-performance thermoelectric
    cooler fabricated vith extrusion-based 3D printing materials. Proceedings of the
    Materials for Sustainable Development Conference. MATSUS: Materials for Sustainable
    Development Conference, 222.'
  mla: Ibáñez, Maria, et al. “High-Performance Thermoelectric Cooler Fabricated Vith
    Extrusion-Based 3D Printing Materials.” <i>Proceedings of the Materials for Sustainable
    Development Conference</i>, 222, Fundació de la comunitat valenciana SCITO, 2024,
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222">10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222</a>.
  short: M. Ibáñez, S. Xu, S. Horta, A.Q. Lawal, in:, Proceedings of the Materials
    for Sustainable Development Conference, Fundació de la comunitat valenciana SCITO,
    2024.
conference:
  end_date: 2024-11-15
  location: Lausanne, Switzerland
  name: 'MATSUS: Materials for Sustainable Development Conference'
  start_date: 2024-11-12
corr_author: '1'
das_tickbox: '0'
date_created: 2025-01-29T14:41:32Z
date_published: 2024-11-15T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-10-16T10:06:46Z
day: '15'
department:
- _id: MaIb
doi: 10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusfall.2024.222
language:
- iso: eng
month: '11'
oa_version: None
publication: Proceedings of the Materials for Sustainable Development Conference
publication_status: published
publisher: Fundació de la comunitat valenciana SCITO
quality_controlled: '1'
researchdata_availability: no
status: public
supplementarymaterial: no
title: High-performance thermoelectric cooler fabricated vith extrusion-based 3D printing
  materials
type: conference
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
year: '2024'
...