Power was increased by 71% and the figure of merit increased to
1.5 Northwestern University researchers (along with colleagues
from University of Michigan and the Jet Propulsion Lab)
discovered that adding two metals, antimony and lead, to the
well-known semiconductor lead-telluride, produces a
thermoelectric material that is more efficient at high
temperatures than existing materials. The results are published
online in the journal Angewandte Chemie. [H/T Nanowerk
Thermoelectric materials are only 5 to 6 percent efficient
today, but the new generation of materials based on recent
discoveries including this one at Northwestern, could produce
devices with 11 to 14 percent efficiency, says Kanatzidis. The
long-term goal is to reach 20 percent. "The thermal conductivity
was not any lower than our earlier results, but we discovered a
net gain in electrical conductivity at high temperatures that we
didn't expect," said Kanatzidis. "This means we had a net gain
in power [71%] coming out of the material that we didn