Issue 24, 2020

Investigation on carrier mobility when comparing nanostructures and bands manipulation

Abstract

Nanostructuring as an effective strategy to reduce thermal conductivity was well developed to enhance thermoelectric performance in the past decades. However, electrical transport properties are always suppressed with nanostructures incorporated into a matrix, which finally causes limited increase of thermoelectric performance. To pursue further enhancement in thermoelectric materials beyond nanostructures, the approach of manipulating electronic band structures was revisited to optimize carrier transports by balancing the competitive relationship between carrier mobility and effective mass. In this review, we highlight and compare some advanced strategies to optimize electrical transport properties in lead and tin chalcogenides, including nanostructuring, bands manipulation and an integration of the two. We first summarize recent developments and compare the thermoelectric performance achieved by nanostructuring and bands manipulation, respectively. Then, several strategies to manipulate band structures are introduced and the competitive relationship between carrier mobility and effective mass are comprehensively investigated and revealed. Finally, the importance of elaborately modulating the carrier mobility and effective mass is emphasized, and a discussion of possible future strategies is presented to aim at further enhancing the thermoelectric performance.

Graphical abstract: Investigation on carrier mobility when comparing nanostructures and bands manipulation

Article information

Article type
Minireview
Submitted
03 апр. 2020
Accepted
13 мај 2020
First published
14 мај 2020

Nanoscale, 2020,12, 12741-12747

Investigation on carrier mobility when comparing nanostructures and bands manipulation

Z. Hou, Y. Xiao and L. Zhao, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 12741 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR02649B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements