Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, thermoelectric materials have attracted heightened interest, particularly for their potential application in alternative energy production. Thermoelectric efficiency is related to the dimensionless figure of merit, which depends on the Seebeck coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity, and temperature. One strategy that has been widely applied in order to maximize the figure of merit involves minimizing the thermal conductivity. This can be achieved, for example, via a reduction in the dimension of the material, as has been demonstrated for nanowires, nanoparticles, superlattices, thin films, and porous materials. A detailed description of thermal and electrical transport on the nanoscale, however, is not trivial from a theoretical or experimental perspective, since macroscopic descriptions of transport phenomena are often not valid on the nanoscale. Since both thermal and electrical transport play a crucial role in thermoelectric materials, it is of particular interest to carefully describe the interaction of the two types of carriers, namely electrons, or charge carriers, and phonons.

This Special Issue aims to publish theoretical and experimental studies that may lead to an enhanced understanding of the various scattering mechanisms affecting electrons and phonons, particularly the interactions of the two, and that focus on their effects in nanostructured materials.

Researchers are invited to contribute to this Special Issue with studies that offer a detailed insight into electronic and thermal transport in nanostructured condensed matter, and those that may ultimately lead to an optimization of the thermoelectric figure of merit.

Dr. Konstanze R. Hahn
Dr. Raphaël P. Hermann
Guest Editors

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• thermoelectric properties
• phonon–electron interactions
• nanostructured materials
• thermal transport
• electron transport