Thermoelectric three-terminal hopping transport through one-dimensional nanosystems

A two-site nanostructure (e.g., a molecule) bridging two conducting leads and connected to a phonon bath is considered. The two relevant levels closest to the Fermi energy are each connected to its lead. The leads have slightly different temperatures and chemical potentials, and the nanostructure is also coupled to a thermal (third) phonon bath. The 3 x 3 linear transport (Onsager) matrix is evaluated, along with the ensuing figure of merit, and found to be very favorable for thermoelectric energy conversion.