Related papers: Recent advances on thermoelectric materials

We describe here a novel approach to the subject of thermoelectric devices. The current best thermoelectrics are based on heavily doped semiconductors or semimetal alloys. We show that utilization of electric field effect or ferroelectric…

Whether porosity can effectively improve thermoelectric performance is still an open question. Herein we report that thermoelectric performance can be significantly enhanced by creating porosity in n-type Mg3.225Mn0.025Sb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01,…

Phonons - quanta of crystal lattice vibrations - reveal themselves in all electrical, thermal and optical phenomena in materials. Nanostructures open exciting opportunities for tuning the phonon energy spectrum and related properties of…

Thermoelectric material provides a high hope for converting harmful and useless heat into useful energy, electricity. It can also be used as solid state Peltier coolers in integrated circuits, an outstanding challenge for electronic…

Nanostructuring has spurred a revival in the field of direct thermoelectric energy conversion. Nanograined materials can now be synthesized with higher figures of merit (ZT) than the bulk counterparts. This leads to increased conversion…

Materials capable of highly efficient, direct thermal-to-electric energy conversion would have substantial economic potential. Theory predicts that thermoelectric efficiencies approaching the Carnot limit can be achieved at low temperatures…

Thermoelectric materials traditionally incorporate heavy metals to achieve low lattice thermal conductivity. However, elements such as Te, Bi, and Pb are costly and pose environmental hazards. In this study, we introduce a novel design…

Efficient thermoelectric materials are highly desirable, and the quest for finding them has intensified as they could be promising alternatives to fossil energy sources. Here we present a general first-principles approach to predict, in…

The growing market for sensors, internet of things, and wearable devices is fueling the development of low-cost energy-harvesting materials and systems. Film based thermoelectric (TE) devices offer the ability to address the energy…

Thermoelectric energy harvesters can have a much higher conversion efficiency by implementing quantum dots/wells between the high temperature region and the low temperature region. However they still suffer a limitation of the maximum…

Thermoelectric device is a promising next-generation energy solution owing to its capability to transform waste heat into useful electric energy, which can be realized in materials with high elec- tric conductivities and low thermal…

The general topic of energy is regarded to be one of the most important areas for any research and development activities at the start of the twentyfirst century. Therefore, large research efforts are already based on or will be targeted on…

Controlling and detecting thermal radiation is of vital importance for varied applications ranging from energy conversion systems and nanoscale information processing devices to infrared imaging, spectroscopy and sensing. We review the…

Organic ferroelectric materials are in demand in the growing field of environmentally friendly, lightweight electronics. Donor-Acceptor charge transfer crystals have been recently proposed as a new class of organic ferroelectrics, which may…

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) with triboelectrification and electrostatic induction effects have attracted wide attention in recent decades, for its diversified application scenarios such as power generation, sensing, and so on.…

In a recent article, Baranowski et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 113, 204904 (2013)] proposed a model that allegedly facilitates optimization of thermoelectric generators operation as these latter are in contact with hot and cold temperature baths…

We study nonlinear transport effects on the maximum efficiency and power for both inelastic and elastic thermoelectric generators. The former refers to phonon-assisted hopping in double quantum-dots, while the latter is represented by…

Conventional thermionic power generators and refrigerators utilize a barrier in the direction of transport to selectively transmit high-energy electrons. Here we show that the energy spectrum of electrons transmitted in this way is not…

A thermoelectric device is a heat engine that directly converts heat into electricity. Many materials with a high figure of merit ZT have been discovered in anticipation of a high thermoelectric efficiency. However, there has been a lack of…

Thermoelectric effects, such as the generation of a particle current by a temperature gradient, have their origin in a reversible coupling between heat and particle flows. These effects are fundamental probes for materials and have…