We develop a continuum theory for thermoelectric bodies following the framework of continuum mechanics and conforming to general principles of thermodynamics. For steady states, the governing equations for local fields are intrinsically nonlinear. However, under conditions of small variations of electrochemical potential, temperature and their gradients, the governing equations can be reduced t...

Using ab initio methods we calculate thermoelectric and spin thermoelectric properties of silicene nanoribbons with bare, mono-hydrogenated and di-hydrogenated edges. Asymmetric structures, in which one edge is either bare or di-hydrogenated while the other edge is mono-hydrogenated (0H-1H and 2H-1H nanoribbons), have a ferromagnetic ground state and display remarkable conventional and spin the...

A thermodynamic model of a thermoelectric generator-driven thermoelectric heat pump (TEG-TEH) combined device is established considering the Thomson effect and the temperature dependence of the thermoelectric properties based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Energy analysis and exergy analysis are performed. New expressions for heating load, maximum working temperature difference, coefficient...

Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat into electricity, potentially improving the effi ciency of energy usage in both industry and everyday life. Unfortunately, known good thermoelectric materials often are comprised of elements that are in low abundance and require careful doping and complex synthesis procedures. Here, we report dimensionless thermoelectric fi gure of merit near unit...

We have investigated theoretically the thermoelectric effects in wurtzite GaN crystals and AlxGa1−xN alloys. The electron-transport model includes all dominant energy-dependent electron-scattering mechanisms, such as charged dislocation and ionized impurity scattering, polar optical phonon, deformation potential, and piezoelectric acoustic-phonon scattering. The results of the calculation show ...

This letter draws attention to a previously unnoticed artifact associated with the most common type of thermoelectric nondestructive materials characterization technique. It is shown that contact heating between the specimen to be tested and the reference electrode gives rise to a considerable offset in the measured thermoelectric voltage. The resulting bias significantly reduces the feasibilit...

Improving the thermoelectric efficiency is one of the greatest challenges in materials science. The recent discovery of excellent thermoelectric performance in simple orthorhombic SnSe crystal offers new promise in this prospect [Zhao et al. Nature 508, 373 (2014)]. By calculating the thermoelectric properties of orthorhombic IV-VI compounds GeS,GeSe,SnS, and SnSe based on the first-principles ...

Metal-molecule-metal junction is a promising candidate for thermoelectric applications that utilizes quantum confinement effects in the chemically defined zero-dimensional atomic structure to achieve enhanced dimensionless figure of merit ZT. A key issue in this new class of thermoelectric nanomaterials is to clarify the sensitivity of thermoelectricity on the molecular junction configurations....

Solid-state thermoelectric technology offers a promising solution for converting waste heat to useful electrical power. Both high operating temperature and high figure of merit zT are desirable for high-efficiency thermoelectric power generation. Here we report a high zT of ∼1.5 at 1,200 K for the p-type FeNbSb heavy-band half-Heusler alloys. High content of heavier Hf dopant simultaneously opt...

Studying the thermoelectric effect in DNA is important for unravelling charge transport mechanisms and for developing relevant applications of DNA molecules. Here we report a study of the thermoelectric effect in single DNA molecules. By varying the molecular length and sequence, we tune the charge transport in DNA to either a hopping- or tunnelling-dominated regimes. The thermoelectric effect ...