Determining factors of thermoelectric properties of semiconductor nanowires

Insights into One-Dimensional Thermoelectric Materials: A Concise Review of Nanowires and Nanotubes

This brief review covers the thermoelectric properties of one-dimensional materials, such as nanowires and nanotubes. The highly localised peaks of the electronic density of states near the Fermi levels of these nanostructured materials improve the Seebeck coefficient. Moreover, quantum confinement leads to discrete energy levels and a modified density of states, potentially enhancing electrical conductivity. These electronic effects, coupled with the dominance of Umklapp phonon scattering, which reduces thermal conductivity in one-dimensional materials, can achieve unprecedented thermoelectric efficiency not seen in two-dimensional or bulk materials. Notable advancements include carbon and silicon nanotubes and Bi3Te2, Bi, ZnO, SiC, and Si1-xGex nanowires with significantly reduced thermal conductivity and increased ZT. In all these nanowires and nanotubes, efficiency is explored as a function of the diameter. Among these nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes offer mechanical flexibility and improved thermoelectric performance. Although carbon nanotubes theoretically have high thermal conductivity, the improvement of their Seebeck coefficient due to their low-dimensional structure can compensate for it. Regarding flexibility, economic criteria, ease of fabrication, and weight, carbon nanotubes could be a promising candidate for thermoelectric power generation.

Advancing Thermoelectric Materials: A Comprehensive Review Exploring the Significance of One-Dimensional Nano Structuring

Amidst the global challenges posed by pollution, escalating energy expenses, and the imminent threat of global warming, the pursuit of sustainable energy solutions has become increasingly imperative. Thermoelectricity, a promising form of green energy, can harness waste heat and directly convert it into electricity. This technology has captivated attention for centuries due to its environmentally friendly characteristics, mechanical stability, versatility in size and substrate, and absence of moving components. Its applications span diverse domains, encompassing heat recovery, cooling, sensing, and operating at low and high temperatures. However, developing thermoelectric materials with high-performance efficiency faces obstacles such as high cost, toxicity, and reliance on rare-earth elements. To address these challenges, this comprehensive review encompasses pivotal aspects of thermoelectricity, including its historical context, fundamental operating principles, cutting-edge materials, and innovative strategies. In particular, the potential of one-dimensional nanostructuring is explored as a promising avenue for advancing thermoelectric technology. The concept of one-dimensional nanostructuring is extensively examined, encompassing various configurations and their impact on the thermoelectric properties of materials. The profound influence of one-dimensional nanostructuring on thermoelectric parameters is also thoroughly discussed. The review also provides a comprehensive overview of large-scale synthesis methods for one-dimensional thermoelectric materials, delving into the measurement of thermoelectric properties specific to such materials. Finally, the review concludes by outlining prospects and identifying potential directions for further advancements in the field.

Modeling of diameter-dependent Fe and Co ultrathin nanowires from first-principles calculations

We present the electronic, magnetic, thermoelectric and optical properties of ferromagnetic metal nanowires (NWs) made of iron (Fe) and cobalt (Co) atoms with different diameter using a first principles approach.

Maximizing the thermoelectric performance of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films in the few-quintuple layer regime

Using first-principles calculations and the Boltzmann theory, we explore the feasibility to maximize the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films in the few-quintuple layer regime. We discover that the delicate competitions between the surface and bulk contributions, coupled with the overall quantum size effects, lead to a novel and generic non-monotonous dependence of ZT on the film thickness. In particular, when the system crosses into the topologically non-trivial regime upon increasing the film thickness, the much longer surface relaxation time associated with the robust nature of the topological surface states results in a maximal ZT value, which can be further optimized to ∼2.0 under physically realistic conditions. We also reveal the appealing potential of bridging the long-standing ZT asymmetry of p- and n-type Bi2Te3 systems.

Measuring methods for thermoelectric properties of one-dimensional nanostructural materials

Measuring methods for the Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity of 1D nanostructural materials have been reviewed and structures, principles, merits and shortcomings, as well as examples of each method are discussed in detail.

Tailoring of Seebeck coefficient with surface roughness effects in silicon sub-50-nm films

The effect of surface roughness on the Seebeck coefficient in the sub-50-nm scale silicon ultra thin films is investigated theoretically using nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. For systematic studies, the surface roughness is modelled by varying thickness periodically with square wave profile characterized by two parameters: amplitude (A 0) and wavelength (λ). Since high Seebeck coefficient is obtained if the temperature difference between the ends of device produces higher currents and higher induced voltages, we investigate how the generated current and induced voltage is affected with increasing A 0 and λ. The theoretical investigations show that pseudoperiodicity of the device structure gives rise to two effects: firstly the threshold energy at which the transmission of current starts is shifted towards higher energy sides and secondly transmission spectra of current possess pseudobands and pseudogaps. The width of the pseudobands and their occupancies determine the total generated current. It is found that current decreases with increasing A 0 but shows a complicated trend with λ. The trends of threshold energy determine the trends of Seebeck voltage with roughness parameters. The increase in threshold energy makes the current flow in higher energy levels. Thus, the Seebeck voltage, i.e. voltage required to nullify this current, increases. Increase in Seebeck voltage results in increase in Seebeck coefficient. We find that threshold energy increases with increasing A 0 and frequency (1/λ). Hence, Seebeck voltage and Seebeck coefficient increase vice versa. It is observed that Seebeck coefficient is tuneable with surface roughness parameters.