Synthesis, Characterization, or Applications of Novel Thermoelectric Nanoparticles

Dear Colleagues,

Thermoelectric technology is one of the most promising approaches for efficient energy harvesting. Thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency is defined by the dimensionless figure of merit ZT = σS²T/κ, where σ, S, κ, and T are the electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, and absolute temperature, respectively. State-of-the-art thermoelectric materials exhibit relatively high ZT values at temperatures lower than 400°C, which is important for practical energy-harvesting applications. However, the ZT values of existing thermoelectric materials are still too low for practical applications.

Multiscale structuring has been regarded as one of the most promising approaches to enhance the ZT value of a thermoelectric material by enhancing phonon scattering with maintaining good carrier transport properties. To fabricate thermoelectric materials with a hierarchically-organized multiscale defect structure, the bottom–up preparation approach in which chemically-synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) are used as building blocks is promising. This enables us to easily create exotic structures never before possible by introducing atomic defects in NPs (including impurities) during the synthesis, controlling size and shape of the NPs, blending two or more different types of NPs for making a bulk material, and controlling mesoscale defect structures by taking advantage of the pulse electric current sintering (PECS) technique.

This Special Issue will cover all aspects of novel thermoelectric NPs, including chemical synthesis, characterization, or applications of those NPs.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Shinya Maenosono
Guest Editor

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• energy harvesting
• thermoelectric material
• nanoparticle
• phonon scattering
• lattice thermal conductivity
• multiscale defect structure