Thermoelectric materials; synthesis, electronic structure, functionality

Thermoelectric cooling and generation of electricity have many attractive ffeatures compared with other methods of cooling and electric power generation, such as long life, no moving parts, no emission of toxic gases, low maintenance and high reliability. The major challenge is to develop stable materials with high figure of merit to achieve high energy efficiency for refrigerators, heat-pumps and heat-to-electricity converters. Achieving this goal is a joint enterprise by the international scientific com munity. In the past 15 years of intense research activity to reach this goal, the focus has been on synthesizing new materials and to evaluate their figure of merit more than on analyzing in depth the scientific relationship between atomic arrangement, mi crostructure, electronic structure and physical properties. In this proposed project we intend to focus on these relationships. Thus, in collaboration with our partners at Caltech and BNL, we intend to establish a comprehensive Norwegian activity within thermoelectricity spanning from synthesis of materials to measurements of their physical properties.