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Start of funding 01.07.2003
Using theory to screen for new thermoelectric materials
Prof. Dr. Volker Engel
University of Würzburg
Institute of Physical Chemistry
Prof. Dr. Horia Metiu
University of California, Santa Barbara
Thermoelectric materials can be used in two ways. In some devices the material produces a large voltage difference when its ends are kept at different temperatures. This is used for recovering thermal energy by converting it to electricity. In other devices the thermoelectric material develops a temperature difference at its ends, when subject to a voltage difference. Such devices are used for refrigeration.
The thermoelectrics, which are used to convert thermal energy to electricity or to convert voltage into temperature differences, are not sufficiently efficient for extensive applications. We hope to theoretically predict new compounds with improved thermoelectric properties and thus provide a guideline for their synthesis. Therefore a computer code will be developed and be used to search for and discover new classes of inorganic compounds and screen various compounds in each to search for a good thermoelectric material.