Giant Specific Power Generation Capacity of Micro‐Thermoelectric Generators Enabled by High‐Entropy Cocktail Strategy

Specific power generation capacity Γ<sub>P</sub> is a critical performance metric for micro-thermoelectric generators (μ-TEGs), yet the best reported values are constrained to a few hundred µW cm<sup>-2</sup> K<sup>-2</sup>. Here, we report a giant Γ<sub>P</sub> of ∼5000 µW cm<sup>-2</sup> K<sup>-2</sup> in μ-TEGs based on the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) in medium-entropy (FeCoNi)<sub>100-</sub> <sub>x</sub>Pt<sub>x</sub> films. Leveraging the high-entropy cocktail strategy, we have simultaneously achieved a large anomalous Nernst thermopower S<sub>xy</sub> (>1.4 µV K<sup>-1</sup>) and low resistivity ρ<sub>xx</sub> (<85 µΩ cm), and suppressed the classical and quantum size effects on both S<sub>xy</sub> and ρ<sub>xx</sub> at the optimal composition of x ≈ 50 and film thickness of a few nanometers, enabling the record-high Γ<sub>P</sub>. The underlying mechanism arises from cocktail-driven modulation of energy-band smearing, density of states, and Berry curvature at the Fermi surface, resulting in an ultrashort carrier mean-free-path of ∼3 nm, an ultrahigh carrier density of ∼10<sup>23</sup> cm<sup>-3</sup>, and a large anomalous Nernst conductivity above 1.7 A m<sup>-1</sup> K<sup>-1</sup>. This claim is further supported by first-principles calculations, which collectively highlight the experimental and theoretical potential of utilizing such materials for high-performance μ-TEG applications.

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Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2026-01-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202520782
Primary Topic
Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
Type
article
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article

Giant Specific Power Generation Capacity of Micro‐Thermoelectric Generators Enabled by High‐Entropy Cocktail Strategy

Guannan Li, Jia Zhang, Jianting Dong, Zhongchang Wang et al.
Advanced Materials
Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
article

Giant Specific Power Generation Capacity of Micro‐Thermoelectric Generators Enabled by High‐Entropy Cocktail Strategy

Guannan Li, Jia Zhang, Jianting Dong, Zhongchang Wang, Yuming Lu, Deshun Hong, Shuang Liu, Young Sun, Xianlin Qu, Zhenyang Liu, Shipeng Zhou
article en

Abstract

Specific power generation capacity Γ<sub>P</sub> is a critical performance metric for micro-thermoelectric generators (μ-TEGs), yet the best reported values are constrained to a few hundred µW cm<sup>-2</sup> K<sup>-2</sup>. Here, we report a giant Γ<sub>P</sub> of ∼5000 µW cm<sup>-2</sup> K<sup>-2</sup> in μ-TEGs based on the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) in medium-entropy (FeCoNi)<sub>100-</sub> <sub>x</sub>Pt<sub>x</sub> films. Leveraging the high-entropy cocktail strategy, we have simultaneously achieved a large anomalous Nernst thermopower S<sub>xy</sub> (>1.4 µV K<sup>-1</sup>) and low resistivity ρ<sub>xx</sub> (<85 µΩ cm), and suppressed the classical and quantum size effects on both S<sub>xy</sub> and ρ<sub>xx</sub> at the optimal composition of x ≈ 50 and film thickness of a few nanometers, enabling the record-high Γ<sub>P</sub>. The underlying mechanism arises from cocktail-driven modulation of energy-band smearing, density of states, and Berry curvature at the Fermi surface, resulting in an ultrashort carrier mean-free-path of ∼3 nm, an ultrahigh carrier density of ∼10<sup>23</sup> cm<sup>-3</sup>, and a large anomalous Nernst conductivity above 1.7 A m<sup>-1</sup> K<sup>-1</sup>. This claim is further supported by first-principles calculations, which collectively highlight the experimental and theoretical potential of utilizing such materials for high-performance μ-TEG applications.

Advanced MaterialsVol. 38(13)
Southwest University (CN), Chongqing University (CN), Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (CN), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 77%
Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
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