9. Thermo-Responsive Nanomaterials for Thermoelectric Generation

In the past decades, as an emission-free technique capable of realizing direct energy conversion between heat and electricity, thermoelectric materials/applications have attracted extensive attention. The efficiency of thermoelectric modules/devices is dominated by the material dimensionless figure of merit, zT. zT of thermoelectric materials can be enhanced through both optimizing carrier transportation properties and refraining the lattice thermal conductivity. Module design can also influence the energy conversion efficiency. Proper module design, such as segmented or cascade design, can effectively utilize the potential of composing materials. Furthermore, through proper device design, the thermoelectric modules can be designed as both flexible and rigid types and applied in both niche and macro-fields.