Jorge Galeano-Cabral

Research

Thermoelectricity: A Hidden Property of Quantum Materials

Thermoelectric devices have the ability to convert heat into electricity (and vice-versa) with no moving parts, have a long service life, are free of working fluids (therefore avoiding potentially environmentally harmful leakages), and are operant in extreme environments. All these advantages make thermoelectric devices to be extremely reliable and with a wide variety of potential applications, such as refrigeration, power generation, and thermal sensors.

Despite these advantages, thermoelectric devices have a rather limited energy conversion efficiency due to the natural competition between high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity, both being essential conditions for achieving a high energy conversion efficiency.

My goal is to find materials that trick nature into being good thermoelectric materials. My research focuses more specifically on low-temperature applications (e.g. quantum computing, deep space probes, and cryogenic cooling). Roughly speaking, materials with unconventional behaviors are often called quantum materials, and it is a good place to start my search and build a platform for the next-generation thermoelectric materials.

Publications

Harvesting the Periodic Table

The search for the next generation low-temperature thermoelectric devices begins with the synthesis of novel materials (materials that have not been reported yet) by combining elements from the periodic table, in my case mostly metallic elements (including rare earth elements, and sometimes even radioactive ones). This combination is done through several different synthesis techniques (e.g. flux growth, arc-melting, and vapor transport) that involve specific growth conditions (e.g. vacuum and temperatures above 1,000°C). This process often yields crystals of different shapes and sizes.

After the synthesis, we measure physical, mechanical, and magnetic properties (e.g. heat capacity, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, etc.) including measurements under extreme conditions (e.g. cryogenic temperature and high magnetic fields). This characterization can result in exotic material behaviors (e.g. superconductivity), which is why it is very important to perform as many measurements as possible. Additionally, I perform thermal evaluations of devices and systems through numerical simulations.

“Science is a collaborative effort. The combined results of several people working together is often much more effective than could be that of an individual scientist working alone.“

– John Bardeen

In order to achieve my goal, I work closely with physicists, chemists, material scientists, and peer engineers. And we collaborate with many other research groups across the U.S. and the world. I also mentor highschoolers and undergraduate students in research experience programs.

Journal Articles

  1. Galeano-Cabral, J.R., Schundelmier B., Oladehin O., Feng, K., Ordonez J., Baumbach R.E., and Wei K. (2023). Effect of Ni in the Thermoelectric Properties of YbCo2Zn20. Materials 17 (8), 1906.
  2. Galeano-Cabral, J.R., Karr E., Schundelmier B., Oladehin O., Choi E.S., Siegrist T., Ordonez J., Shastri S., Petkov V., Baumbach R.E., & Wei K.(2023). Enhanced thermoelectric properties of heavy-fermion compounds YbxCeySmzIr2Zn20 (x+y+z=1). Physical Review Materials, 7(2).
  3. Feng, K., Galeano-Cabral J., Wei, K., and Baumbach, R. (2023). Revealing Strongly Correlated Quantum Spin States in GdNiAl4Ge2. Physical Review Materials, 7(124409).
  4. Porto-Hernandez, L. A., J. V. C. Vargas, M. N. Munoz, Galeano-Cabral, J.R., J. C. Ordonez, W. Balmant, & A. B. Mariano. (2023). Fundamental Optimization of Steam Rankine Cycle Power Plants. Energy Conversion and Management, 289:117148.
  5. Galeano-Cabral, J.R., Porto-Hernandez, L.A., Vargas, J.V.C. & Ordonez J.C. (2022). Exergetic Optimization of an Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator and Wastewater Treatment Plant. International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment, 23(4)
  6. Kyrk, T.M., Kennedy, E., Galeano-Cabral, J.R., Wei, K., McCandless, G.T., Scott, M.C., Baumbach, R.E. and Chan, J. (2022). Anisotropic Magnetic and Transport Properties of Orthorhombic o-Pr2Co3Ge5. Journal of Physics: Materials, 5(044007).
  7. Petkov, V., Rao, T.D., Abeykoon, A.M., Galeano-Cabral, J.R. and Wei, K. (2022). Spin-lattice coupling in magnetocaloric Gd5(Ge,Si)4 alloys by insitu x-ray pair distribution analysis in magnetic field. Physical Review Materials, 6(10), p.104407.
  8. Oladehin, O., Feng, K., Haddock, J., Galeano-Cabral, J.R., Wei, K., Xin, Y., Latturner, S. & Baumbach, R.E. (2022). Mn Substitution in the Topological Metal Zr2Te2P. Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter, 34(485501)

Selected Oral Presentations