G. Udhaya Sankar, C. Ganesa Moorthy
Thermoelectric energy conversion offers a solid state method for directly converting heat into electrical energy by using the Seebeck effect, and it is being useful for waste heat recovery and low power generation applications. This work investigates the thermoelectric modeling of antimony telluride (Sb₂Te₃) and bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) using a MATLAB based computational framework. Material transport properties are parameterized, and simulations are performed under representative engine exhaust conditions with hot side temperature of 250°C and cold side temperature of 40°C. Engine parameters such as power, volumetric efficiency, density, and specific heat are included to estimate available thermal input. Simulation results demonstrate stable and physically consistent voltage, current, power characteristics for both materials across the selected temperature range. Bi₂Te₃ shows strong n-type electrical response with favourable conductivity behaviour, while Sb₂Te₃ demonstrates reliable p-type Seebeck performance. The MATLAB model successfully predicts load-matching conditions, output trends, and efficiency behaviour, confirming its suitability for a design and optimization tool and for low power thermoelectric generator systems prior to experimental implementation.