Recent progress in electrodeposition of thermoelectric thin films and nanostructures

Thermoelectric power generators and coolers have many advantages over conventional refrigerators and power generators such as solid-state operation, compact design, vast scalability, zero-emissions and long operating lifetime with no maintenance. However, the applications of thermoelectric devices are limited to where their unique advantages outweigh their low efficiency. Despite this practical confine, there has been a reinvigorated interest in the field of thermoelectrics through identification of classical and quantum mechanical size effects,which provide additional ways to enhance energy conversion efficiencies in nanostructured materials. Although, there are a few reports which demonstrated the improvement of efficiency through nanoengineering, the successful application of these nanostructures will be determined by a cost-effective and high through-put fabrication method. Electrodeposition is the method of choice to synthesize nanoengineered thermoelectric materials because of low operating and capital cost, high deposition rates, near room temperature operation, and the ability to tailor the properties of materials by adjusting deposition conditions. In this paper, we reviewed the recent progress of the electrodeposition of thermoelectric thin films and nanostructures including Bi, Bi(1-x)Sb(x), Bi(2)Te(3), Sb(2)Te(3), (Bi(1-x)Sb(x))(2)Te(3), Bi(2)Se(3), Bi(2)Te(3-y)Se(y), PbTe, PbSe, PbSe(1-x)Te(x) and CoSb(3). (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.