Recent Progress in Thermoelectric Materials for Room Temperature Applications

Thermoelectric effect converting heat into electrical power and vice versa enableswaste heat recovery and solid state coolingin well-designed modules. In this review, we summarize the most recent progresses in thermoelectric materials for room temperature applications. This includes both promising materials and the strategies for performance improvement developed in recent years. We primarily focus on Bi₂Te₃-based materials, α-MgAgSb, and high power factor half-Heusler compounds. The unique featuresof these materials are summarized, andfundamental mechanismsfor the outstanding performance are discussed.