Strategies to enhance thermoelectric performance: Review

Thermoelectric (TE) technology can play a promising role in the energy landscape but they are still ill-treated due to their low efficiencies. This review gives information regarding the strategies for boosting thermoelectric performance, such as band engineering, nanostructuring, defect engineering, and Anderson Localization. Band engineering can enhance the power factor by increasing band effective mass while maintaining high carrier mobility (μ) and increasing the conducting bands N v . Nanostructuring techniques profoundly impact thermoelectric performance by tailoring the material's microstructure, leading to enhanced carrier scattering, reduced thermal conductivity, and improved electrical transport, thereby opening up promising avenues for high-efficiency thermoelectric applications. Defect engineering, encompassing the introduction of vacancies, nanoprecipitates, and dislocations as efficient phonon scattering centers, emerges as a compelling strategy for optimizing thermoelectric properties through enhanced phonon scattering and charge carrier transport, presenting promising prospects for advancing high-performance thermoelectric materials. Recent theoretical and experimental studies proved that TE improvement is possible with the enhanced Seebeck coefficient which probably increases due to Anderson localization, on the insulating side with a nonzero, small, electrical conductivity when the chemical potential lies below the localization threshold within a single mobility edge. Recent investigations have revealed the potential for thermoelectric improvement through augmentation of the Seebeck coefficient, likely due to Anderson localization effects on the insulating side. This effect becomes prominent when the chemical potential lies below the localization threshold, within a single mobility edge. In conclusion, the integration of nanostructuring, band engineering, defect engineering, and Anderson localization offers remarkable potential in enhancing the thermoelectric properties of materials. These synergistic approaches hold great promise in unlocking the full potential of thermoelectric technology and advancing sustainable energy solutions for the future.