Eco-Friendly SnTe Thermoelectric Materials: Progress and Future Challenges

As a key type of emerging thermoelectric material, tin telluride (SnTe) has received extensive attention because of its low toxicity and eco-friendly nature. The recent trend shows that band engineering and nanostructuring can enhance thermoelectric performance of SnTe as intermediate temperature (400-800 K) thermoelectrics, which provides an alternative for toxic PbTe with the same operational temperature. This review highlights the key strategies to enhance the thermoelectric performance of SnTe materials through band engineering, carrier concentration optimization, synergistic engineering, and structure design. A fundamental analysis elucidates the underpinnings for the property improvement. This comprehensive review will boost the relevant research with a view to work on further performance enhancement of SnTe materials.