Electronic and phononic transport in thermoelectric materials
This project is now filled.
Supervisors: Neophytos Neophytou (School of Engineering), Julie Staunton (Physics)
Two thirds of all energy we use is lost into heat during conversion processes, a loss which puts enormous pressure on the planet, the use of fossil fuels, and energy sustainability. Thermoelectric materials could be part of the solution, as they convert waste heat into electricity, but their large scale implementation is hindered by low efficiencies and material availability. The project uses atomistic and quantum transport methods to investigate and optimize new generation nanostructured materials with complex electronic and phononic structures, that could boost the thermoelectric figure of merit to unprecedented levels.
References
Laura de Sousa Oliveira and Neophytos Neophytou, ‘Large-scale molecular dynamics investigation of geometrical features in nanoporous Si,’ Phys. Rev. B 100, 035409 (2019).
Chathurangi Kumarasinghe and Neophytos Neophytou, ‘Band alignment and scattering considerations for enhancing the thermoelectric power factor of complex materials: The case of Co-based half-Heusler,’ Phys. Rev. B 99, 195202 (2019).