Thermoelectric (TE) materials are those which show the thermoelectric effect in a useful way. Key uses for thermoelectric materials include power generation (using the Seebeck effect), and electronic cooling and heating (via the Peltier effect). Promising materials with TE applications include narrow band gap V-VI semiconductors, such as bismuth telluride. The ADEPT team aims to use electrodeposition to produce single-crystal nanowire arrays of bismuth and antimony tellurides for TE applications.

ADEPT goal: a thermoelectric energy harvesting device employing nanowires of diameter <20 nm