RESEARCH FIELD

Thermoelectrics

Thermoelectrics investigates materials and devices that convert heat directly into electricity via the Seebeck effect or use electricity to pump heat via the Peltier effect, enabling solid-state power generation from waste heat and efficient spot cooling without moving parts. The dimensionless figure of merit ZT governs device efficiency, and achieving ZT greater than 1 — now routinely exceeded in the best materials — requires independently optimising electronic and phonon transport. Research strategies include band engineering by resonant doping or band convergence to enhance the power factor, and nanostructuring via superlattices and grain boundaries to scatter phonons while preserving electron transport. Topological semimetals and complex crystal structures including skutterudites, clathrates, half-Heusler alloys, and tin selenide have yielded record ZT values. Flexible and wearable thermoelectric generators for body heat harvesting represent an emerging application area. Industrial deployment focuses on automotive waste heat recovery and deep-space spacecraft powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Funding comes from DOE, national science foundations, automotive companies, and the space industry.