The need to transition to clean energy is apparent, urgent and inescapable.
The remainder is dissipated as heat.
Recovering even a tiny fraction of that lost energy would have a tremendous impact on climate change.
Thermoelectric materials, which convert wasted heat into useful electricity, can help.
Until recently, the identification of these materials had been slow.
Making great strides towards broad applications
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The kerosene radio was designed for rural areas, and was powered by the kerosene lamp hanging above it.
The flame created a temperature difference across metals to generate the electrical current.
Are we there yet?
Today, thermoelectric applications range from energy generation inspace probestocooling devices in portable refrigerators.
Despite this vast diversity of applications, wide-scale commercialization of thermoelectric materials is still limited by their low efficiency.
Whats holding them back?
The best thermoelectric material would have the electronic properties of semiconductors and the poor heat conduction of glass.
But this unique combination of properties is not found in naturally occurring materials.
We have to engineer them.
But it took them nearly a decade to optimize it.
These insights helped us find the best materials to synthesize and test, and calculate their thermoelectric efficiency.
Large-scale applications will require themoelectric materials that are inexpensive, non-toxic and abundant.
Although those calculations can reveal optimum thermoelectric materials, synthesizing the materials with the desired properties remains a challenge.
