Featured
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| Open AccessMetavalently bonded tellurides: the essence of improved thermoelectric performance in elemental Te
Doping is a common strategy to improve thermoelectric performance yet limited to the solid solubility of dopants. Here, the authors find that forming metavalently bonded precipitates is key to property enhancement in Te rather than modifying the matrix lattice.
- Decheng An
- , Senhao Zhang
- & Yuan Yu
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Article
| Open AccessSynergistically optimized electron and phonon transport in high-performance copper sulfides thermoelectric materials via one-pot modulation
It is hard to simultaneously improve electrical and thermal properties of materials due to the strong coupling of carrier and phonon transport. Here, the authors propose a one-pot modulation strategy for simultaneously adjusting carrier and phonon transport in copper sulfids.
- Yi-Xin Zhang
- , Qin-Yuan Huang
- & Zhen-Hua Ge
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Article
| Open AccessCreation of flexible spin-caloritronic material with giant transverse thermoelectric conversion by nanostructure engineering
Nanostructure engineering enables transforming simple magnetic alloys into spincaloritronic materials with large transverse thermoelectric conversion. This has led to a high anomalous Nernst coefficient in flexible Fe-based amorphous alloys.
- Ravi Gautam
- , Takamasa Hirai
- & Hossein Sepehri-Amin
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Article
| Open AccessVacancies tailoring lattice anharmonicity of Zintl-type thermoelectrics
Vacancies are traditionally considered to play a role of phonon-defect scattering. Here, the authors show that vacancies can induce phonon softening, enhance phonon anharmonicity, and cause a dramatic reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity.
- Jinfeng Zhu
- , Qingyong Ren
- & Jie Ma
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Article
| Open AccessHigh figure-of-merit for ZnO nanostructures by interfacing lowly-oxidized graphene quantum dots
It is crucial to design ZnO with uniform nanoscale features to reduce thermal conductivity while maintaining electrical conduction pathways. Authors realize a high figure-of-merit value of 0.486 at 580 K by interfacing graphene quantum dots with three-dimensional nanostructured ZnO.
- Myungwoo Choi
- , Juyoung An
- & Seokwoo Jeon
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Article
| Open AccessFlexible power generators by Ag2Se thin films with record-high thermoelectric performance
Flexible Ag2Se possesses promising near-room-temperature thermoelectric performance, while trade-off in thermoelectric performance and flexibility enhances its practical utility. Here, the authors fabricate polycrystalline Ag2Se-based thin film with a high ZT of 1.27 at 363 K by Te doping.
- Dong Yang
- , Xiao-Lei Shi
- & Zhi-Gang Chen
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Article
| Open AccessModeling critical thermoelectric transports driven by band broadening and phonon softening
The authors develop a quantitative theory to model and tune the electrical transports during critical phase transitions by incorporating both the band broadening effect and carrier-soft TO phonon interactions.
- Kunpeng Zhao
- , Zhongmou Yue
- & Xun Shi
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Article
| Open AccessModulation of the morphotropic phase boundary for high-performance ductile thermoelectric materials
Power factor and figure-of-merit values are normally low in flexible thermoelectric materials. Here, the authors fabricate high-performance ductile thermoelectric materials with high power factor and figure-of-merit values near the morphotropic phase boundary in Ag2Se-Ag2S pseudobinary compound.
- Jiasheng Liang
- , Jin Liu
- & Xun Shi
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Article
| Open AccessPerformance boost for bismuth telluride thermoelectric generator via barrier layer based on low Young’s modulus and particle sliding
The lack of desirable barrier layers prohibits the power generation applications of bismuth telluride thermoelectric devices. Here, the authors construct a kind of Ti barrier layer with high strength and low resistivity with a module exhibiting high thermal stability during the service at 523 K.
- Yuxin Sun
- , Fengkai Guo
- & Jiehe Sui
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Article
| Open AccessThermoelectric coupling effect in BNT-BZT-xGaN pyroelectric ceramics for low-grade temperature-driven energy harvesting
Pyroelectric energy harvesting has received increasing attention due to its ability to convert low-grade waste heat into electricity. Here, authors report an enhanced thermoelectric coupling BNT-BZT-xGaN pyroelectric energy harvester by facilitating resonance vibration between Ga and Ti, O atoms.
- Meng Shen
- , Kun Liu
- & Kui Yao
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Article
| Open AccessWide-temperature-range thermoelectric n-type Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 with high average and peak zT values
The utilization of Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 in thermoelectric devices is hindered by its low performance near room temperature. Here, authors report thermoelectric performance enhancement of Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 within a wide temperature range by incorporating metallic inclusions at grain boundaries. (279 in total)
- Jing-Wei Li
- , Zhijia Han
- & Jing-Feng Li
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Article
| Open AccessImproved figure of merit (z) at low temperatures for superior thermoelectric cooling in Mg3(Bi,Sb)2
It is challenging to increase carrier mobility in n-type Mg3(Bi,Sb)2 due to grain-boundary scattering. Here, authors reported a facile growth of coarse-grained Mg3(Bi,Sb)2 crystals with high carrier mobility. The as-fabricated module shows cooling performance comparable to commercial Bi2Te3 module.
- Nan Chen
- , Hangtian Zhu
- & Huaizhou Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessVacancy-mediated anomalous phononic and electronic transport in defective half-Heusler ZrNiBi
Vacancy has only played a stereotyped role as a scattering center in thermoelectrics, and the boundaries of its versatility have not been tested. Here, authors reveal the multifunctionality of vacancy in tailoring the phononic and electronic transport in a defective half-Heusler ZrNiBi.
- Wuyang Ren
- , Wenhua Xue
- & Zhifeng Ren
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Article
| Open AccessHalf-Heusler alloys as emerging high power density thermoelectric cooling materials
Here, the authors increase the grain size of Nb0.55Ta0.4Ti0.05FeSb by three orders of magnitude by Sb-pressure controlled annealing, resulting in enhanced mobility and cooling power density compared to Bi2Te3-based devices.
- Hangtian Zhu
- , Wenjie Li
- & Bed Poudel
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Article
| Open AccessSelf-healable polymer complex with a giant ionic thermoelectric effect
Thermoelectric devices have received significant attention for energy generation owing to their unique advantages over traditional heat engines. Here, the authors developed a well performing stretchable and self-healable iono thermoelectric material by optimizing the thermophoresis of protons in a polymer complex PEDOT:PAAMPSA:PA polymer.
- Dong-Hu Kim
- , Zico Alaia Akbar
- & Sung-Yeon Jang
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Article
| Open AccessThe curious case of the structural phase transition in SnSe insights from neutron total scattering
The thermoelectric properties of SnSe are attributed to a high-temperature phase transition, whose nature has not been resolved. Here the authors probe the transition at different length scales using neutron pair distribution function analysis and diffraction data, revealing a dynamic order-disorder nature, and shedding light on previous discrepancies.
- Bo Jiang
- , Jennifer Neu
- & Theo Siegrist
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Article
| Open AccessScalable-produced 3D elastic thermoelectric network for body heat harvesting
Flexible thermoelectric generators can use body heat to power electronic wearables but are often limited by a trade-off between flexibility and output performance. Here, authors demonstrate a scalable, lightweight, elastic, and high-performing network-based Ag2Se thermoelectric generator.
- Yijie Liu
- , Xiaodong Wang
- & Feng Cao
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Article
| Open AccessCompositing effects for high thermoelectric performance of Cu2Se-based materials
Here, the authors devise a synthesis strategy to optimize the stability and thermoelectric performance of Cu2Se-based materials. They obtain a maximum ZT value of ~2.82 at 1000 K on Cu2Se-BiCuSeO-graphene composites.
- Zhifang Zhou
- , Yi Huang
- & Yuan-Hua Lin
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Article
| Open AccessThree dimensional architected thermoelectric devices with high toughness and power conversion efficiency
The potential of thermoelectric devices is typically hindered by heat stagnation and poor mechanical strength, which degrade their performance. Here, the authors demonstrate larger temperature gradients and higher mechanical strength by developing 3D core-shell architected thermoelectric devices.
- Vaithinathan Karthikeyan
- , James Utama Surjadi
- & Vellaisamy A. L. Roy
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| Open AccessHigh thermoelectric efficiency realized in SnSe crystals via structural modulation
Thermoelectric technology directly enables both power generation and electronic cooling. Here, the authors realize high-performance SnSe crystals with promising device efficiencies by modulating crystal and band structures.
- Bingchao Qin
- , Dongyang Wang
- & Li-Dong Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessReversible bipolar thermopower of ionic thermoelectric polymer composite for cyclic energy generation
Generating continuous power by ionic thermoelectric material modules remains challenging. Here, the authors find the ionic thermoelectric material exhibiting bipolar thermopower property by manipulating the interactions between ions and electrodes.
- Cheng Chi
- , Gongze Liu
- & Xing Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessSolid state ionics enabled ultra-sensitive detection of thermal trace with 0.001K resolution in deep sea
Exploration of deep sea areas relies on sonar and other visual and auditory sensors, but gaining information via temperature sensing in deep sea areas is difficult to realize. Here, the authors design an elastic, self-healable and sensitive thermal sensor which can identify a temperature difference as low as 0.01 K with a resolution of 0.001 K
- Yucheng Zhang
- , Dekai Ye
- & Chao Wang
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| Open AccessThermal-inert and ohmic-contact interface for high performance half-Heusler based thermoelectric generator
Unsatisfied electrode bonding in half-Heusler devices limits their practical service at high temperatures. Here, the authors develop a direct bonding interface to ideal ohmic contact and thermally inert and ohmic contact, leading to high deficiency.
- Ruiheng Liu
- , Yunfei Xing
- & Shengqiang Bai
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Article
| Open AccessColossal Nernst power factor in topological semimetal NbSb2
Today solid-state cooling technologies below 77 K are greatly limited. Here, the authors report the colossal Nernst power factor in NbSb2 single crystal, providing a high performance thermomagnetic material for solid-state cooling at low temperature.
- Peng Li
- , Pengfei Qiu
- & Xun Shi
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Article
| Open AccessEvolution of defect structures leading to high ZT in GeTe-based thermoelectric materials
The intrinsic high-concentration Ge vacancies in GeTe-based thermoelectric materials hinder their performance maximization. Here, the authors find that defect structure engineering strategy is effective for performance enhancement.
- Yilin Jiang
- , Jinfeng Dong
- & Jing-Feng Li
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Article
| Open AccessRealizing high-ranged thermoelectric performance in PbSnS2 crystals
Direct and reversible conversion between heat and electricity can be achieved in thermoelectric materials. Here, the authors realize high thermoelectric performance in PbSnS2 crystals enabled by multiple bands convergence.
- Shaoping Zhan
- , Tao Hong
- & Li-Dong Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessGeneralised optical printing of photocurable metal chalcogenides
Optical 3D printing techniques are low-cost mask-less patterning methods, but their application is limited by the number of printable materials. Here, the authors report a generalized optical method to print 2D or micrometre-thick 2.5D architectures based on metal chalcogenides inks, showing the realization of micro-scale thermoelectric generators.
- Seongheon Baek
- , Hyeong Woo Ban
- & Jae Sung Son
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Article
| Open AccessGlassy thermal conductivity in Cs3Bi2I6Cl3 single crystal
The investigation of thermal conductivity is crucial to the success of many modern technologies. Here the authors have reported an unusual glass-like thermal conductivity in a single crystal of layered halide perovskite, Cs3Bi2I6Cl3.
- Paribesh Acharyya
- , Tanmoy Ghosh
- & Kanishka Biswas
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Article
| Open AccessAtomic-scale thermopower in charge density wave states
Microscopic origins of thermopower are investigated to design efficient thermoelectric devices. Here, the authors report thermopower and phonon puddles in the charge density wave states in 1T-TaS2 by scanning thermoelectric microscopy.
- Dohyun Kim
- , Eui-Cheol Shin
- & Heejun Yang
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Article
| Open AccessMultiple valence bands convergence and strong phonon scattering lead to high thermoelectric performance in p-type PbSe
Power generation from heat to electricity can be realized by thermoelectric materials. Here, the authors improve the thermoelectric properties in PbSe enabled by multiple bands convergence and strong phonon scattering.
- Yingcai Zhu
- , Dongyang Wang
- & Li-Dong Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessUltrahigh transverse thermoelectric power factor in flexible Weyl semimetal WTe2
Flexible thermoelectrics are of great interest with increasing demand of flexible and wearable electronics. Here, the authors demonstrate that the Weyl semimetal, WTe2, has a high Nernst power factor and great mechanical flexibility.
- Yu Pan
- , Bin He
- & Claudia Felser
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Article
| Open AccessHeat-fueled enzymatic cascade for selective oxyfunctionalization of hydrocarbons
Thermoelectric materials enable us to convert heat into electricity, but their application has been limited to high-temperature heat sources. Here, the authors show the direct conversion of low-grade waste heat into chemical energy via combining thermoelectric materials with biocatalysts below 100 °C.
- Jaeho Yoon
- , Hanhwi Jang
- & Chan Beum Park
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Article
| Open AccessAg9GaSe6: high-pressure-induced Ag migration causes thermoelectric performance irreproducibility and elimination of such instability
The Ag9GaSe6 is a high-efficient thermoelectric material yet suffers instability. Here, the authors demonstrate the instability is caused by the pressure-induced liquid-like Ag migration, which can be eliminated by a simple annealing treatment.
- Jing-Yuan Liu
- , Ling Chen
- & Li-Ming Wu
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Article
| Open AccessLocal large temperature difference and ultra-wideband photothermoelectric response of the silver nanostructure film/carbon nanotube film heterostructure
Finding efficient photothermoelectric materials remains critical to the development of clean and renewable energy conversion technologies. Here, authors prepare a silver nanostructure film/carbon nanotube film heterojunction with excellent photothermal and photoelectric conversion performance.
- Bocheng Lv
- , Yu Liu
- & Jia-Lin Sun
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Article
| Open AccessUltrafast photothermoelectric effect in Dirac semimetallic Cd3As2 revealed by terahertz emission
Many topological semimetals are excellent thermoelectric materials, but previous studies were limited to steady-state properties. Here, the authors observe a transient thermoelectric response in Cd3As2 by detecting the resulting THz emission, with an enhanced response when a small magnetic field is applied.
- Wei Lu
- , Zipu Fan
- & Dong Sun
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| Open AccessMaximizing the performance of n-type Mg3Bi2 based materials for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling
The awaited studies of new and efficient thermoelectric modules have not come to fruition yet. Here, the authors demonstrate a high thermoelectric performance of non-Bi2Te3 module for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling.
- Zihang Liu
- , Weihong Gao
- & Takao Mori
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Article
| Open AccessDensity of states prediction for materials discovery via contrastive learning from probabilistic embeddings
Electrons and phonons give rise to important properties of materials. The machine learning framework Mat2Spec vastly accelerates their computational characterization, enabling discovery of materials for thermoelectrics and solar energy technologies.
- Shufeng Kong
- , Francesco Ricci
- & John M. Gregoire
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Article
| Open AccessGeneral heterostructure strategy of photothermal materials for scalable solar-heating hydrogen production without the consumption of artificial energy
The 1 sun-heating temperatures of photothermal materials can be generally elevated from ~90 °C to ~300 °C by hybridizing with infrared insulating materials, capable of driving methanol reforming to 310 mmol g−1 h−1 over CuOx/ZnO/Al2O3 nanosheets.
- Yaguang Li
- , Xianhua Bai
- & Guangsheng Fu
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Article
| Open AccessSelectively tuning ionic thermopower in all-solid-state flexible polymer composites for thermal sensing
Though high ionic thermopower and p-n conversion has been realized in liquid ionic thermoelectric materials, achieving similar performance in solid-state polymer materials remains a challenge. Here, the authors report all-solid-state thermoelectric polymer composites with tunable ionic thermopower.
- Cheng Chi
- , Meng An
- & Xing Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessA record thermoelectric efficiency in tellurium-free modules for low-grade waste heat recovery
Thermoelectric materials for low-grade heat recovery applications are limited to Bi2Te3-based alloys containing expensive Te for decades. Here, the authors demonstrate on a module level, cheap antimonides could enable an efficiency not inferior to that of expensive tellurides.
- Zhonglin Bu
- , Xinyue Zhang
- & Yanzhong Pei
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Article
| Open AccessHalf-Heusler-like compounds with wide continuous compositions and tunable p- to n-type semiconducting thermoelectrics
Half-and full-Heusler compounds are considered as independent phases with a natural composition gap. Here the authors report the discovery of half-Heusler-like TiRu1+xSb with wide continuous compositions falling in the gap region and tunable p-to n-type semiconducting thermoelectrics.
- Zirui Dong
- , Jun Luo
- & Wenqing Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessElectroresistance in multipolar antiferroelectric Cu2Se semiconductor
The reaction of a conductive ferroelectric matter to external electric field remains largely unknown. Here, the authors reveal the relationship between the electrically-driven crystalline domain transition along the multiple-polar directions and the resistance change.
- Hui Bai
- , Jinsong Wu
- & Xinfeng Tang
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Article
| Open AccessHomo-composition and hetero-structure nanocomposite Pnma Bi2SeS2 - Pnnm Bi2SeS2 with high thermoelectric performance
Most of the thermoelectric nanocomposites have structure character of a hetero-composition and hetero-structure, or hetero-composition and homo-structure between matrix phase and dispersion phase. This work shows a quasi homo-composition and hetero-structure (hoC-heS) nanocomposite consisting of Pnma Bi2SeS2 - Pnnm Bi2SeS2 with high ZT.
- Bushra Jabar
- , Fu Li
- & Weishu Liu
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Article
| Open AccessFast ion transport for synthesis and stabilization of β-Zn4Sb3
β-Zn4Sb3 has promising thermoelectric performance, but its ionic migration properties make it prone to degradation. Here the authors exploit the ion migration in an electric field-assisted synthesis method, fast producing β-Zn4Sb3 with improved phase stability and extended temperature range for the thermoelectric operation.
- Dongwang Yang
- , Xianli Su
- & Xinfeng Tang
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Article
| Open AccessIntrinsic nanostructure induced ultralow thermal conductivity yields enhanced thermoelectric performance in Zintl phase Eu2ZnSb2
Understanding mechanisms for obtaining low thermal conductivity without degraded electrical properties remains a challenge. Here, the authors reveal a mechanism for thermal conductivity reduction in a Zintl phase thermoelectric based on length scales for disorder in Eu2ZnSb2.
- Chen Chen
- , Zhenzhen Feng
- & Qian Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessDemonstration of valley anisotropy utilized to enhance the thermoelectric power factor
Valley anisotropy is proposed theoretically to benefit the electrical transport of thermoelectric materials but it lacks experimental demonstration. Here, the authors demonstrate how to utilize the single anisotropic Fermi pocket in p-type Mg3Sb2 to enhance its thermoelectric properties.
- Airan Li
- , Chaoliang Hu
- & Tiejun Zhu
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Article
| Open AccessMacroscopic weavable fibers of carbon nanotubes with giant thermoelectric power factor
Preserving the large power factor of carbon nanotubes is challenging, due to poor sample morphology and a lack of proper Fermi energy tuning. Here, the authors achieve a value of power factor of 14 ± 5 mW m−1 K−2 originating from the preserved conductivity and the ability to tune Fermi energy.
- Natsumi Komatsu
- , Yota Ichinose
- & Junichiro Kono
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Article
| Open AccessHigh thermoelectric performance enabled by convergence of nested conduction bands in Pb7Bi4Se13 with low thermal conductivity
Lillianite materials usually have low thermoelectric efficiency due to the inherently inferior electrical properties. Here, the authors evaluate thermoelectric performances in Pb7Bi4Se13 based lillianites enabled by convergence of nested conduction bands.
- Lei Hu
- , Yue-Wen Fang
- & Qingyu Yan
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Article
| Open AccessLeveraging bipolar effect to enhance transverse thermoelectricity in semimetal Mg2Pb for cryogenic heat pumping
Heat pumping is in high demand at cryogenic temperature, but whether thermoelectricity can take on cryogenic heat pumping is an open question. Here, the authors answer this question by leveraging bipolar effect to enhance transverse thermoelectricity in semimetal Mg2Pb for cryogenic heat pumping.
- Zhiwei Chen
- , Xinyue Zhang
- & Yanzhong Pei