Thermoelectric energy conversion - From waste heat to sustainable energy

Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat into electricity, which is of significant technological and environmental interest. In my talk I will give a short introduction into the field of thermoelectrics including the measurement of the thermoelectric properties of bulk materials at low and elevated temperatures. I will introduce a selection of general concepts, which allow to improve and optimize thermoelectric materials and I will briefly talk about a selection of new directions in the field, where some of them (will) heavily rely on and benefit from the fields of metallurgy and atom probe tomography (e.g. phase boundary mapping and antiphase boundaries as a new route towards low thermal conductivities).