Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Thermoelectric materials enable the direct conversion of heat into electricity and offer attractive solutions for energy harvesting and waste-heat recovery. Their performance is evaluated by the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = S 2 σT / κ , where S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, κ is the thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature. Traditionally, high ZT values have been achieved at elevated temperatures in materials such as PbTe, SiGe, half-Heusler compounds, skutterudites, and metal oxides. However, for emerging applications including consumer electronics, wearable devices, Internet-of-Things systems, and biomedical devices/sensors, achieving high ZT at/near room temperature is essential. In recent years, significant progress has been made towards this goal through strategies such as nanostructuring, band-structure engineering, defect/interface engineering, and also by the discovery of novel thermoelectric compounds. These advances have enabled several material systems to reach ZT values of more than 1 under ambient conditions. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in room-temperature thermoelectric materials, with a particular focus on high-ZT reports.
Source: Physica Scripta
Author: Rafiq Mulla
Institution: B.M.S. College of Engineering
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7196936929