Innovative Thermoelectric Materials

The contemporary enthusiasm for environmentally friendly energy sources such as solar, geothermal, and wind energy has caused a surge of interest into how thermoelectrics might contribute to greater efficiency in energy generation and conversion. Although historically the primary materials used in thermoelectric devices have been metals and inorganic semiconductors, there has recently been a movement to make use of the thermoelectric effects of organic conducting polymers, thin films, nanostructured materials, oxides, and pseudo-liquid materials. These materials and structures show great promise in improving the cost, simplicity, and efficiency of thermoelectric systems and, ultimately, offer the potential for enhanced properties through application of alternative physical mechanisms. Innovative Thermoelectric Materials incorporates the contributions of a group of recognized experts at the forefront of these developments in thermoelectric materials, models of energy transport in candidate thermoelectric materials, and developers of high-efficiency thermoelectric energy conversion. Recent progress and future prospects are analyzed, with a particular focus on thermoelectric energy conversion in organic conducting polymers, polymer nanostructure composites, and hierarchically assembled structures.