State-of-the-art of Thermoelectric Materials: Processing, Properties and Applications

Development of new thermoelectric materials has been rapid in past few years. The goal of the work appears to be to reduce the thermal conductivity while remaining the electrical conductivity at relatively high level. Different techniques have been demonstrated in laboratory scale utilizing nanoscale tailoring. The recent development in nanoscale tailoring has based mainly on utilization of silicon. However, silicon can not be considered to be a good thermoelectric material due to its low ZT value. Thus, one can assume that better performance can be achieved by finding more appropriate materials. Also the problem of manufacturing the nanostructures in industrial scale still prevails. Thus, it is suggested that the development work should be focused on development of new efficient thermoelectric materials suitable for mass manufacturing utilizing nanoscience.