Challenges for Thermoelectric Power Generation: From a Material Perspective

Abstract

Thermoelectric devices enable the direct conversion of heat flux into electrical energy, which have attracted considerable research interests for energy harvesting to address the challenges of energy sustainability. Owing to the emerging concepts or strategies, the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT), dominating the device’s conversion efficiency, has been significantly boosted during the last two decades. However, thermoelectric materials remain stagnant for practical applications. In this review, future challenges from a material perspective are discussed and emphasized. It includes fundamental theories, design criteria, material synthesis, and properties measurement. Our review tries to point out these important research directions in the near future, thereby enabling rationally developing thermoelectric science and pushing thermoelectric devices for large-scale applications.