Comparative Numerical Investigation of SrTiO₃ and PbTe Thermoelectric Materials for Medical Cooling Applications

Abstract

Thermoelectric cooling (TEC) offers compact, reliable, and eco-friendly thermal management for biomedical and medical refrigeration applications. This numerical study compares SrTiO₃ and PbTe-based TEC modules using a fully coupled electro-thermal finite-element model. Performance metrics include temperature difference-current (ΔT-I), temperature difference-heat load (ΔT-Q), and coefficient of performance under varying operating conditions. Results show that the SrTiO₃ module achieves a maximum temperature difference of ΔTmax ≈ 65.48 K, surpassing PbTe ≈ 52-58 K under similar conditions. The SrTiO₃ module also exhibits a maximum cooling capacity of Qc,max ≈ 8.79 W at ΔT = 0 K. COP analysis reveals superior efficiency for SrTiO₃, reaching ≈ 1.1 at ΔT = 20 K, compared to PbTe < 0.6. Additionally, SrTiO₃ demonstrates enhanced thermal robustness, maintaining stable cooling under increasing heat loads. The superior performance of SrTiO₃ stems from its favorable transport properties (high electrical conductivity and moderate thermal conductivity), combined with non-toxicity, environmental compatibility, and thermal durability-advantages over toxic lead-based alternatives. These findings highlight SrTiO₃ strong potential for next-generation solid-state cooling in localized therapeutic devices, medical refrigeration, and biomedical thermal management. Nomenclature: