Towards a dynamical approach to the calculation of the figure of merit of thermoelectric nanoscale devices

Abstract

Research on thermoelectrical energy conversion, the reuse of waste heat produced by some mechanical or chemical processes to generate electricity, has recently gained some momentum. The calculation of the electronic parameters entering the figure of merit of this energy conversion, and therefore the discovery of efficient materials, is usually performed starting from the Landauer's approach to quantum transport coupled with the Onsager's linear response theory. As it is well known, that approach suffers of certain serious drawbacks. Here, we discuss alternative dynamical methods that can go beyond the validity of the Landauer's/Onsager's approach for electronic transport. They can be used to validate the predictions of the Landauer's/Onsager's approach and to investigate systems for which that approach has shown to be unsatisfactory.

9 pages, no figures, Latex

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• Electric gating induced bandgaps and enhanced Seebeck effect in zigzag bilayer graphene ribbons
• Enhancement of the Seebeck effect in bilayer armchair graphene nanoribbons by tuning the electric fields
• Thermoelectric properties of in-plane $90^0$-bent graphene nanoribbons with nanopores
• Phonon-Driven Electron Scattering and Magnetothermoelectric Effect in Two-Dimensional Tin Selenide