热电能鼍转换技术是一种利用材料实现热能和电能直接相互转换的清洁能源技术。热电材料的性能是决定热电转换效率的关键因素,而热电材料的性能优化涉及电输运和热输运性能的协同优化。文章介绍了近期热电材料中热输运的调控机制和方法,其中重点论述了基于原子分子层次调控热传导的宽频声子散射效应和横波阻尼效应,以及低维结构和复合材料中的基于纳米微米尺度的微结构调控。最后介绍了室温附近热传导的调控机制及其在高效微型热电器件研发中的应用和进展。
Thermoelectric energy conversion technology is a clean-energy technology, which can convert energy directly between heat and electricity using thermoelectric materials. The conversion efficiency is mainly determined by the performance of the material, which includes the electrical and thermal transport properties. A suitable balance between the latter must be found to optimize the thermo- electric properties. This paper describes recent developments in minimizing the heat conduction in ther- moelectric materials and micro-devices, focussing on the effect of wide-spectrum phonon scattering and the damping ofphonon transverse waves in semiconductor compounds, and phonon scattering by the in- terfaces and defects in low-dimension structures and thermoelectric composites. Finally, an overview of recent advances in high pertbrmance thermoelectric micro-devices improved by the suppression of heat conduction around room temperature will be given.