Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review

Thermoelectric (TE) technology can play a promising role in the energy landscape but its low efficiency remains a significant drawback in pratical applications. . This review gives information regarding the strategies for boosting thermoelectric performance, such as band engineering, nanostructuring...

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Main Authors: Lydia Rathnam, Surabhi Suresh Nair, Arnab Ganguly, Nirpendra Singh, Gobind Das
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425015224
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author Lydia Rathnam
Surabhi Suresh Nair
Arnab Ganguly
Nirpendra Singh
Gobind Das
author_facet Lydia Rathnam
Surabhi Suresh Nair
Arnab Ganguly
Nirpendra Singh
Gobind Das
author_sort Lydia Rathnam
collection DOAJ
description Thermoelectric (TE) technology can play a promising role in the energy landscape but its low efficiency remains a significant drawback in pratical applications. . This review gives information regarding the strategies for boosting thermoelectric performance, such as band engineering, nanostructuring, defect engineering, and Anderson Localization. Band engineering can enhance the power factor by increasing band effective mass (md∗)while maintaining high carrier mobility (μ) and increasing the conducting bands Nv. Nanostructuring techniques profoundly impact thermoelectric performance by tailoring the material's microstructure, leading to enhanced carrier scattering, reduced thermal conductivity, and improved electrical transport, thereby opening up promising avenues for high-efficiency thermoelectric applications. Defect engineering, encompassing the introduction of vacancies, nanoprecipitates, and dislocations as efficient phonon scattering centers, emerges as a compelling strategy for optimizing thermoelectric properties through enhanced phonon scattering and charge carrier transport, presenting promising prospects for advancing high-performance thermoelectric materials. Recent theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that thermoelectric (TE) improvement is possible through an enhanced Seebeck coefficient, achieved via Anderson localization, which is characterized by a nonzero, small electrical conductivity when the chemical potential lies below the localization threshold within a single mobility edge. This effect becomes prominent when the chemical potential lies below the localization threshold within a single mobility edge. In conclusion, the integration of nanostructuring, band engineering, defect engineering, and Anderson localization offers remarkable potential to enhance the thermoelectric properties of materials. These synergistic approaches hold great promise in unlocking the full potential of thermoelectric technology and advancing sustainable energy solutions for the future.
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spelling doaj-art-49298bfaabc840c78a6a2f69d3d78deb2025-08-20T03:29:31ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-07-01372694271710.1016/j.jmrt.2025.06.100Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: ReviewLydia Rathnam0Surabhi Suresh Nair1Arnab Ganguly2Nirpendra Singh3Gobind Das4Department of Physics, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates; Department of Physics, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, IndiaDepartment of Physics, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Physics, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates; Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, 603203, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Physics, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates; Center for Catalysis and Separation (CeCaS), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates; Corresponding author. Department of Physics, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates.Department of Physics, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates; Center for Catalysis and Separation (CeCaS), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates; Corresponding author. Department of Physics, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, 127788, the United Arab Emirates.Thermoelectric (TE) technology can play a promising role in the energy landscape but its low efficiency remains a significant drawback in pratical applications. . This review gives information regarding the strategies for boosting thermoelectric performance, such as band engineering, nanostructuring, defect engineering, and Anderson Localization. Band engineering can enhance the power factor by increasing band effective mass (md∗)while maintaining high carrier mobility (μ) and increasing the conducting bands Nv. Nanostructuring techniques profoundly impact thermoelectric performance by tailoring the material's microstructure, leading to enhanced carrier scattering, reduced thermal conductivity, and improved electrical transport, thereby opening up promising avenues for high-efficiency thermoelectric applications. Defect engineering, encompassing the introduction of vacancies, nanoprecipitates, and dislocations as efficient phonon scattering centers, emerges as a compelling strategy for optimizing thermoelectric properties through enhanced phonon scattering and charge carrier transport, presenting promising prospects for advancing high-performance thermoelectric materials. Recent theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that thermoelectric (TE) improvement is possible through an enhanced Seebeck coefficient, achieved via Anderson localization, which is characterized by a nonzero, small electrical conductivity when the chemical potential lies below the localization threshold within a single mobility edge. This effect becomes prominent when the chemical potential lies below the localization threshold within a single mobility edge. In conclusion, the integration of nanostructuring, band engineering, defect engineering, and Anderson localization offers remarkable potential to enhance the thermoelectric properties of materials. These synergistic approaches hold great promise in unlocking the full potential of thermoelectric technology and advancing sustainable energy solutions for the future.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425015224
spellingShingle Lydia Rathnam
Surabhi Suresh Nair
Arnab Ganguly
Nirpendra Singh
Gobind Das
Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
title Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review
title_full Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review
title_fullStr Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review
title_full_unstemmed Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review
title_short Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review
title_sort strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance review
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425015224
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