Boron-rich solids: A chance for high-efficiency high-temperature thermoelectric energy conversion

Thermoelectric energy conversion is a very reliable way of generating electrical power, for example from solar heat or from waste industrial thermal energy. Boron-rich solids are shown to be very promising candidates for high efficiency thermoelectric energy conversion. The outstanding high melting points and extraordinary chemical stability allow their use under extreme conditions which are not accessible by most other materials. Some boron-rich semiconductors exhibit very favourable transport properties such as high Seebeck coefficients increasing monotonically up to very high temperatures, electrical conductivities with values typical of semiconductors, and very low thermal conductivities.