Emerging Thermoelectric Materials, Techniques and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

[*] Background and history of this Special Issue

Since the discovery of the thermoelectric (TE) phenomenon in metals in the early 19th century, three major waves of thermoelectric (TE) research have occurred. Firstly, alloy-based thermoelectric devices, primarily thermocouples, have been widely used for temperature measurements in academic laboratories and industrial environments to the present day. Secondly, with the understanding of carrier transport in solids, semiconducting thermoelectric materials have been actively investigated since the early 1950s. Semiconducting materials with significantly high thermoelectric performance, such as Bi₂Te₃, PbTe, and SiGe, have been reported with figures of merit (ZT) of around 1.0. By the mid-to-late 1950s, these materials were implemented in practical thermoelectric generators, notably for space missions. Thirdly, with the rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology since the 1990s, nanoengineering approaches, including the design of nanocomposites, controlled interfaces, grain boundary engineering, and defect manipulation, have been employed to enhance the thermoelectric performance of existing semiconductor materials.; In addition, new material families such as skutterudites, clathrates, and half-Heuslers have been explored during the third wave. These efforts have led to ZT enhancements of 50% or more, and ZTs of the cutting-edge bulk materials have not exceeded 2.0, which is a critical threshold for commercial applications such as thermoelectric air conditioning.

In recent years, ongoing progress in materials design, synthesis, device fabrication, and application, combined with the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), has accelerated the discovery of new high-performance thermoelectric materials. It is anticipated that TE materials with ZT values approaching or exceeding 2.0 will soon emerge, signaling a new era of efficient, high-power thermoelectric applications. This will mark the forthcoming fourth wave of thermoelectric research.

[*] Aim and scope of the Special Issue:

The aim of this Special Issue is to report recent advances and emerging topics in thermoelectric materials, fabrication techniques, devices, and applications that enable efficient conversion between heat and electricity.

This Special Issue aims to report fundamental research and applied innovations for improving thermoelectric figures of merit, device efficiency, and real-world applications. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Design, synthesis, fabrication, and characterization of TE materials;
• Nanostructuring and interface engineering to optimize thermoelectric performance;
• Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, including machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL) and large language models (LLMs) for TE materials discovery;
• Organic, hybrid, and composite TE materials;
• Emerging TE applications in energy harvesting, cooling, and power generation.

[*] Cutting-edge research

This Special Issue focuses on cutting-edge research on materials design, characterization and computation that reshape the thermoelectric (TE) science and technology. Key areas of interest include the following:

• High-performance materials designed through artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize electronic and thermal transport.
• Nanoengineering and hierarchical structures that enhance TE performance.
• Low-dimensional and quantum-structured TE materials, such as two-dimensional materials and nanocomposites, offer unique carrier scattering and energy-filtering effects.
• Emerging TE materials, such as high-entropy materials, topological materials, and metal–organic frameworks.
• Advanced synthesis and fabrication techniques, including additive manufacturing.
• Integrated device engineering, including wearable electronics and flexible devices.
• Data-driven design and predictive modeling, including material databases, calculations and simulations.

We aim to report innovative concepts, transformative materials, emerging techniques, and extended applications that will guide the next wave of highly efficient materials and devices for sustainable energy applications.

[*] What kind of papers we are soliciting

For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of a wide range of high-quality contributions that advance our understanding, design preparation, and application of thermoelectric materials and devices. Submissions of the following types are encouraged:

• Original research articles reporting experimental, theoretical, or computational results that enhance thermoelectric material performance, device efficiency, or materials understanding.
• Review articles summarizing recent progress and challenges in thermoelectric science, materials development, or applications, with emphasis on emerging directions and future perspectives.

Prof. Dr. Yucheng Lan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• thermoelectric
• design
• synthesis
• fabrication
• devices
• structure
• property
• application