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Thermoelectrics have great potential for use in waste heat recovery to improve energy utilization. Moreover, serving as a solid-state heat pump, they have found practical application in cooling electronic products. Nevertheless, the scarcity of commercial Bi 2 Te 3 raw materials has impeded the sustainable and widespread application of thermoelectric technology. In this study, we developed a low-cost and earth-abundant PbS compound with impressive thermoelectric performance. The optimized n-type PbS material achieved a record-high room temperature ZT of 0.64 in this system. Additionally, the first thermoelectric cooling device based on n-type PbS was fabricated, which exhibits a remarkable cooling temperature difference of ~36.9 K at room temperature. Meanwhile, the power generation efficiency of a single-leg device employing our n-type PbS material reaches ~8%, showing significant potential in harvesting waste heat into valuable electrical power. This study demonstrates the feasibility of sustainable n-type PbS as a viable alternative to commercial Bi 2 Te 3 , thereby extending the application of thermoelectrics. The authors fabricate a thermoelectric cooling device based on n-type PbS based material, which exhibits a remarkable cooling temperature difference of 36.9 K at room temperature, and the single-leg power generation efficiency of 8%.

The diamondoid compounds are a large family of important semiconductors, which possess various unique transport properties and had been widely investigated in the fields of photoelectricity and nonlinear optics. For a significantly long period of time, diamondoid materials were not given much attention in the field of thermoelectricity. However, this changed when a series of diamondoid compounds showed a thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) greater than 1.0. This discovery sparked considerable interest in further exploring the thermoelectric properties of diamondoid materials. This review aims to provide a comprehensive view of our current understanding of thermal and electronic transport in diamondoid materials and stimulate their development in thermoelectric applications. We present a collection of recent discoveries concerning the lattice dynamics and electronic structure of diamondoid materials. We review the underlying physics responsible for their unique electrical and phonon transport behaviors. Moreover, we provide insights into the advancements made in the field of thermoelectricity for diamondoid materials and the corresponding strategies employed to optimize their performance. Lastly, we emphasize the challenges that lie ahead and outline potential avenues for future research in the domain of diamondoid thermoelectric materials. Diamondoid compounds are a large group of important semiconductors and have been widely applied in many fields, including thermoelectricity. This review aims to provide a comprehensive view of our current understanding of thermal and electrical transport in diamondoid materials, and present a collection of recent discoveries concerning the lattice dynamics and electronic structure of these compounds.

Armillaria sp. are traditional edible medicinal mushrooms with various health functions; however, the relationship between their composition and efficacy has not yet been determined. Here, the ethanol extract of liquid-cultured Armillaria ostoyae mycelia (AOME), a pure wild Armillaria sp. strain, was analyzed using UHPLC-QTOF/MS, network pharmacology, and molecular docking techniques. The obtained extract affects various metabolic pathways, such as JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT. The extract also contains important compounds such as 4-(dimethylamino)-N-[7-(hydroxyamino)-7-oxoheptyl] benzamide, isoliquiritigenin, and 7-hydroxycoumarin. Moreover, the extract targets key proteins, including EGFR, SCR, and IL6, to suppress the progression of gastric cancer, thereby synergistically inhibiting cancer development. The molecular docking analyses indicated that the main compounds stably bind to the target proteins. The final cell culture experimental data showed that the ethanol extract inhibited MGC-803 gastric cancer cells. In summary, our research revealed the beneficial components of AOME for treating gastric cancer and its associated molecular pathways. However, further research is needed to confirm its effectiveness and safety in gastric cancer patients.

Bismuth telluride-based compounds have been extensively utilized for commercial application. However, thermoelectric materials must suffer numerous mechanical vibrations and thermal stresses while in service, making it equally important to discuss the mechanical properties, especially at high temperature. In this study, the compressive and bending strengths of Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 commercial zone melting (ZM) ingots were investigated at 25, 100, and 200 °C, respectively. Due to the obvious anisotropy of materials prepared by ZM method, the effect of anisotropy on the strengths was also explored. Two-parameter Weibull distribution was employed to fit a series of values acquired by a universal testing machine. And digital speckle photography was applied to record the strain field evolution, providing visual observation of surface strain. The compressive and bending strengths along ZM direction were approximately three times as large as those perpendicular to the ZM direction independent of the temperature, indicating a weak van der Waals bond along the c axis.

Although many thermoelectric materials, such as Bi 2 Te 3 , PbTe and CoSb 3 , possess excellent thermoelectric properties, they often contain toxic and expensive elements. Moreover, most of them are synthesized by processes such as vacuum melting, mechanical alloying or solid-state reactions, which are highly energy and time intensive. All these factors limit commercial applications of the thermoelectric materials. Therefore, it is imperative to develop efficient, inexpensive and non-toxic materials and explore rapid and low-cost synthesis methods. Herein we demonstrated a rapid, facile and low-cost synthesis route that combines thermal explosion (TE) with plasma-activated sintering and used it to prepare environmentally benign CuFeS 2+2 x . The phase transformation that occurred during the TE and correlations between the microstructure and transport properties were investigated. In a TE process, single-phase CuFeS 2 was obtained in a short time and the thermoelectric performance of the bulk samples was better than that of the samples that were synthesized using traditional methods. Furthermore, the effect of phase boundaries on the transport properties was investigated and the underlying physical mechanisms that led to an improvement in the thermoelectric performance were revealed. This work provides several new ideas regarding the TE process and its utilization in the synthesis of thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric materials: embracing a big bang theory Thermoelectric materials can be rapidly formed into efficient structural phases using controlled thermal explosions. Many thermoelectric materials contain toxic and expensive elements and are synthesized by energy intensive processes. ’Fool's gold‘, or chalcopyrite, a copper iron sulfide (CuFeS 2 ) mineral, exhibits promising thermoelectric activity and a low toxicity. Xinfeng Tang from Wuhan University of Technology, China and co-workers have developed a quick process to arrange the atoms inside CuFeS 2 for optimal electrical conductivity and heat retention. Exposing powdered reagents in a quartz tube to brief periods of intense temperatures initiated a series of exothermic, explosive reactions that synthesized target crystals in under a minute. The researchers adjusted the initial sulfur content to fine tune the chalcopyrite crystal phases generated during explosions, and, following sintering, recovered one compound with 130% times the normal thermoelectric conversion efficiency. In a typical thermal explosion process, a single-phase CuFeS 2 is obtained in a very short time and the thermoelectric performance of the fully condensed bulk samples is better than that of the samples synthesized by the traditional methods. The presence of phase boundaries in the CuFeS 2− x has an effect on the transport properties: phase boundaries scatter low-frequency phonons and reduce the thermal conductivity of a composite structure. Moreover, large differences in the carrier concentration in CuFeS 2 and Cu 1.1 Fe 1.1 S 2 drive a redistribution of electrons in the composite and lead to an enhancement in the electronic transport properties.

The global crises of water and energy scarcity call for integrated technologies that transcend single‐function operation. Here, we present a solar‐powered integrated thermoelectric generator (SPI‐TEG) that relies solely on sunlight to synergistically co‐produce electricity, freshwater, concentrated brine, and solid salt within a single device. The SPI‐TEG employs a wavelength‐selective absorber at the hot side of a thermoelectric module to maximize solar‐to‐heat conversion, while a superhydrophilic cleanroom wiper placed at the cold side enables continuous seawater transport and efficient evaporative cooling. This configuration establishes a significant temperature difference for power generation and simultaneously reutilizes the dissipated heat for desalination. Under 1.0 sun illumination, the device achieves a notable open‐circuit voltage of 258.8 mV, a power density of 0.504 W m−2, and an evaporation rate of 1.79 kg m−2 h−1, with a freshwater collection rate of 0.632 kg m−2 h−1. Notably, through circulating evaporation, the device enables tunable brine concentration and achieves zero liquid discharge with a salt recovery rate of up to 83%. This work offers a practical zero‐carbon route for synergistic water‐electricity cogeneration and sustainable ocean resource recovery. A solar‐powered integrated thermoelectric generator only uses solar heating and seawater evaporative cooling for synergistically co‐generating electricity, freshwater, concentrated brine, and salt within a single device. It will be an important breakthrough, providing a practical zero‐carbon route in efficient water‐electricity cogeneration and ocean resource recovery for sustainable development.

Miniaturization of efficient thermoelectric (TE) devices has long been hindered by the weak mechanical strength and insufficient heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency of zone-melted (ZM) ingots. Here, we successfully prepared a robust high-performance p-type Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3.72 bulk alloy by combining an ultrafast thermal explosion reaction with the spark plasma sintering (TER-SPS) process. It is observed that the introduced excess Te not only enhances the (00l)-oriented texture to ensure an outstanding power factor (PF) of 5 mW m−1 K−2, but also induces extremely high-density line defects of up to 1011–1012 cm−2. Benefiting from such heavily dense line defects, the enhancement of the electronic thermal conductance from the increased electron mobility is fully compensated by the stronger phonon scattering, leading to an evident net reduction in total thermal conductivity. As a result, a superior ZT value of ~1.4 at 350 K is achieved, which is 40% higher than that of commercial ZM ingots. Moreover, owing to the strengthening of grain refinement and high-density line defects, the mechanical compressive stress reaches up to 94 MPa, which is 154% more than that of commercial single crystals. This research presents an effective strategy for the collaborative optimization of the texture, TE performance, and mechanical strength of Bi2Te3-based materials. As such, the present study contributes significantly to the future commercial development of miniature TE devices.

Recently, dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) beyond 1.0 has been demonstrated in diamondoid Cu2SnSe3, positioning it as a low-cost and ecofriendly thermoelectric alternative, and sparking intense interest in further optimizing its thermoelectric properties. However, its intrinsic monoclinic structure and the compact packing of tetrahedral coordination lead to a light valence band and high thermal conductivity, which impede further performance improvement in Cu2SnSe3. Thus, developing effective approaches to altering the local structure of Cu2SnSe3 is important for further optimizing its thermoelectric performance. Herein, we identified and thoroughly investigated the atomic off-centering behavior in Cu2SnSe3, and demonstrated the electronic and phonon transport properties of Cu2SnSe3 can be significantly enhanced by carefully modifying its monoclinic lattice into a distorted zinc-blende cubic structure via introducing Cd and off-centering Ag elements. This structure transition leads to band convergence and a reduction in the deformation potential of the material, resulting in a 7-fold enhancement in the density-of-state effective mass and an 85% increase in carrier mobility. Additionally, the off-centering effect results in strong acoustic-optical phonon scattering and an ultra-low lattice thermal conductivity of 0.3 W m−1 K−1. Consequently, a maximum ZT of 1.3 was obtained at 800 K for the Cu1.85Ag0.15Sn0.9Cd0.1Se3.

Armillaria sp. are traditional edible medicinal mushrooms with various health functions; however, the relationship between their composition and efficacy has not yet been determined. Here, the ethanol extract of liquid-cultured Armillaria ostoyae mycelia (AOME), a pure wild Armillaria sp. strain, was analyzed using UHPLC-QTOF/MS, network pharmacology, and molecular docking techniques. The obtained extract affects various metabolic pathways, such as JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT. The extract also contains important compounds such as 4-(dimethylamino)-N-[7-(hydroxyamino)-7-oxoheptyl] benzamide, isoliquiritigenin, and 7-hydroxycoumarin. Moreover, the extract targets key proteins, including EGFR, SCR, and IL6, to suppress the progression of gastric cancer, thereby synergistically inhibiting cancer development. The molecular docking analyses indicated that the main compounds stably bind to the target proteins. The final cell culture experimental data showed that the ethanol extract inhibited MGC-803 gastric cancer cells. In summary, our research revealed the beneficial components of AOME for treating gastric cancer and its associated molecular pathways. However, further research is needed to confirm its effectiveness and safety in gastric cancer patients.

Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere.