Nanowires for heat conversion

Abstract

This review focuses on the investigation and enhancement of the thermoelectric properties of semiconducting nanowires (NWs). NWs are nanostructures with typical diameters between few to hundreds of nm and length of few to several microns, exhibiting a high surface-to-volume ratio. Nowadays an extraordinary control over their growth has been achieved, enabling also the integration of different types of heterostructures, which can lead to the engineering of the functional properties of the NWs. In this review, we discuss all concepts which have been presented and achieved so far for the improvements of the thermoelectric performances of semiconducting NWs. Furthermore, we present a brief survey of the experimental methods which enable the investigation of the thermoelectric properties of these nanostructures.