Thermoelectric Materials and Performance Optimization

Thermoelectric materials directly convert thermal gradients into electrical power via the Seebeck effect. Their performance is gauged by the dimensionless figure of merit zT, which integrates the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. The central challenge is to maximise the electrical power factor while minimising lattice thermal conduction. Approaches include band engineering to converge multiple valleys, controlled doping and alloying to tune carrier concentrations, and nanostructuring or defect introduction to scatter phonons. Advances in half‐Heusler alloys, layered chalcogenides, skutterudites and organic–inorganic composites have been guided by high‐throughput computation and non‐equilibrium processing. Beyond efficiency, emerging priorities are mechanical flexibility, low cost and sustainability. The global quest for waste‐heat recovery, distributed sensing and autonomous power underscores the need for holistic design strategies that integrate theory-guided discovery, scalable synthesis and device-level innovation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that Te-doped Mg₃Sb₁.₅Bi₀.₅ alloys achieve exceptionally high power factors through a sixfold valley degeneracy in the conduction band, yielding zT values up to 1.65 between 300 K and 725 K. Non-equilibrium processing of PbTe–SrTe solid solutions has produced zT as high as 2.5 at 923 K by promoting bandgap widening, valence-band convergence and the formation of nanoscale SrTe precipitates that scatter phonons while preserving carrier mobility. Flexible thermoelectric devices have also emerged, notably n-type Ag₂Se films deposited on nylon membranes that combine ultrahigh power factors exceeding 900 μW m⁻¹ K⁻² at 300 K with mechanical durability, demonstrating potential for wearable and bendable power generators.

Research from all publishers

Recent articles have introduced elastic thermoelectric aerogels composed of conducting polymers and carbon nanotubes that maintain structural integrity and generate microwatt-level power under temperature differences up to 300 K; prototypes include self-powered gloves for motion recognition and high-temperature fire warning. A comprehensive technical review has outlined advances in generator architectures—planar, segmented and cascaded—and surveyed applications from low-power biomedical sensors to high-temperature industrial waste‐heat recovery. Meanwhile, an integrated theory–experiment perspective has distilled strategies for tuning transport properties: band convergence and carrier-scattering engineering to enhance electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient; manipulation of phonon–phonon interactions in nanostructures; and exploitation of chemical-bond hierarchies to create part-liquid subunits that impede heat flow in complex solids.

Thermoelectric Materials and Performance Optimization publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermoelectric materials and performance optimization across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Seebeck coefficient (S): Voltage generated per unit temperature difference across a material.

Figure of merit (zT): Dimensionless measure of thermoelectric efficiency, proportional to S²σ/κ, where σ is electrical conductivity and κ is thermal conductivity.

Power factor: Product of the square of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity (S²σ), reflecting electrical performance.

Phonon scattering: Disruption of lattice vibrations to reduce thermal conductivity and enhance zT.

References

1. Harness High-Temperature Thermal Energy via Elastic Thermoelectric Aerogels. Nano-Micro Letters (2024).
2. Discovery of high-performance low-cost n-type Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectric materials with multi-valley conduction bands. Nature Communications (2017).
3. Non-equilibrium processing leads to record high thermoelectric figure of merit in PbTe–SrTe. Nature Communications (2016).
4. Finding Unprecedentedly Low-Thermal-Conductivity Half-Heusler Semiconductors via High-Throughput Materials Modeling. Physical Review X (2014).
5. A comprehensive review of Thermoelectric Generators: Technologies and common applications. Energy Reports (2020).
6. On the tuning of electrical and thermal transport in thermoelectrics: an integrated theory–experiment perspective. npj Computational Materials (2016).
7. High performance n-type Ag2Se film on nylon membrane for flexible thermoelectric power generator. Nature Communications (2019).