I've got a real science question, and am hoping that it's visible amidst
the spam. :-) I'm interested in transferring heat into and out of
small amounts of aqueous solutions of various metal salts. For the conditions I'm investigating, I think that Peltier (thermoelectric)
modules are the way to go. Obviously, this will work best when there's
as little thermal insulation as possible separating the solutions from
the modules. I could try using very thin glass plates in between the solutions and the modules, with thermal paste. Metal is out of the
question, due to reaction with the solutes, and something like painted
metal still risks contamination via a scratch or ionic migration. I
could try coating the modules with something like a thin layer of
silicone, or some other coating, I suppose. But what would be most
efficient would be to simply put the modules directly in contact with
the solutions.
But I don't know enough about the material properties of thermoelectric modules to be able to guess if contact with such solutions would make
them fail. Would metal ions migrate through the ceramic (?) coatings
and interfere with the semiconductor effects? Are there other potential problems? Obviously, I'm going to be careful to prevent contact between
the solutions and the conductors that provide power to the modules.
Thanks!
You will be hard pressed to find specifications for the ceramic plates[snip]
used for peltier devices and the most I have ever found is that they are
made with alumina ceramics. Note that alumina ceramics have different properties than pure alumina.
In general, alumina ceramics are weakly attacked by strong acids and
bases and insoluable in water.
A ceramic that is 74%, which is about the cheapest stuff anyone makes,
or more alumina is concidered gas tight and will not absorb water.
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