TY - JOUR
T1 - A Practical Field Guide to Thermoelectrics: Fundamentals, Synthesis, and Characterization
AU - Ferguson, Andrew
AU - Blackburn, Jeffrey
AU - Zevalkink, Alex
AU - Smiadak, David
AU - Chabinyc, Michael
AU - Delaire, Olivier
AU - Wang, Jian
AU - Kovnir, Kirill
AU - Martin, Joshua
AU - Schelhas, Laura
AU - Sparks, Taylor
AU - Kang, Stephen
AU - Dylla, Maxwell
AU - Snyder, Jeffrey
AU - Ortiz, Brenden
AU - Toberer, Eric
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Author(s).
PY - 2018/6/1
Y1 - 2018/6/1
N2 - The study of thermoelectric materials spans condensed matter physics, materials science and engineering, and solid-state chemistry. The diversity of the participants and the inherent complexity of the topic mean that it is difficult, if not impossible, for a researcher to be fluent in all aspects of the field. This review, which grew out of a one-week summer school for graduate students, aims to provide an introduction and practical guidance for selected conceptual, synthetic, and characterization approaches and to craft a common umbrella of language, theory, and experimental practice for those engaged in the field of thermoelectric materials. This review does not attempt to cover all major aspects of thermoelectric materials research or review state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials. Rather, the topics discussed herein reflect the expertise and experience of the authors. We begin by discussing a universal approach to modeling electronic transport using Landauer theory. The core sections of the review are focused on bulk inorganic materials and include a discussion of effective strategies for powder and single crystal synthesis, the use of national synchrotron sources to characterize crystalline materials, error analysis, and modeling of transport data using an effective mass model, and characterization of phonon behavior using inelastic neutron scattering and ultrasonic speed of sound measurements. The final core section discusses the challenges faced when synthesizing carbon-based samples and the measuring or interpretation of their transport properties. We conclude this review with a brief discussion of some of the grand challenges and opportunities that remain to be addressed in the study of thermoelectrics.
AB - The study of thermoelectric materials spans condensed matter physics, materials science and engineering, and solid-state chemistry. The diversity of the participants and the inherent complexity of the topic mean that it is difficult, if not impossible, for a researcher to be fluent in all aspects of the field. This review, which grew out of a one-week summer school for graduate students, aims to provide an introduction and practical guidance for selected conceptual, synthetic, and characterization approaches and to craft a common umbrella of language, theory, and experimental practice for those engaged in the field of thermoelectric materials. This review does not attempt to cover all major aspects of thermoelectric materials research or review state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials. Rather, the topics discussed herein reflect the expertise and experience of the authors. We begin by discussing a universal approach to modeling electronic transport using Landauer theory. The core sections of the review are focused on bulk inorganic materials and include a discussion of effective strategies for powder and single crystal synthesis, the use of national synchrotron sources to characterize crystalline materials, error analysis, and modeling of transport data using an effective mass model, and characterization of phonon behavior using inelastic neutron scattering and ultrasonic speed of sound measurements. The final core section discusses the challenges faced when synthesizing carbon-based samples and the measuring or interpretation of their transport properties. We conclude this review with a brief discussion of some of the grand challenges and opportunities that remain to be addressed in the study of thermoelectrics.
KW - architectural acoustics
KW - condensed matter physics
KW - crystalline materials
KW - neutron scattering
KW - single crystals
KW - thermoelectric equipment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049339812&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/1.5021094
DO - 10.1063/1.5021094
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85049339812
SN - 1931-9401
VL - 5
JO - Applied Physics Reviews
JF - Applied Physics Reviews
IS - 2
M1 - Article No. 021303
ER -