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Nanostructural thermoelectric materials and their performance

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Abstract

In this review, an attempt was made to introduce the traditional concepts and materials in thermoelectric application and the recent development in searching high-performance thermoelectric materials. Due to the use of nanostructural engineering, thermoelectric materials with a high figure of merit are designed, leading to their blooming application in the energy field. One dimensional nanotubes and nanoribbons, two-dimensional planner structures, nanocomposites, and heterostructures were summarized. In addition, the state-of-the-art theoretical calculation in the prediction of thermoelectric materials was also reviewed, including the molecular dynamics (MD), Boltzmann transport equation, and non-equilibrium Green’s function. The combination of experimental fabrication and first-principles prediction significantly promotes the discovery of new promising candidates in the thermoelectric field.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51676212) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Kai-Xuan Chen, Min-Shan Li, Dong-Chuan Mo & Shu-Shen Lyu

  2. Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Centre for Advanced Thermal Control Material and System Integration (ATCMSI), Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Kai-Xuan Chen, Min-Shan Li, Dong-Chuan Mo & Shu-Shen Lyu

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  1. Kai-Xuan Chen
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  2. Min-Shan Li
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Correspondence to Dong-Chuan Mo or Shu-Shen Lyu.

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Chen, KX., Li, MS., Mo, DC. et al. Nanostructural thermoelectric materials and their performance. Front. Energy 12, 97–108 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-018-0543-5

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