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Martin-Gonzalez et al. Energy Mater. 2025, 5, 500121 Energy Materials
DOI: 10.20517/energymater.2025.32

Review Open Access

Phonon and electron transport engineering for

enhanced thermoelectric performance and the
challenges of device integration

Marisol Martin-Gonzalez 1,* , Ketan Lohani 1 , Neophytos Neophytou 2,*

1
Instituto de Micro y Nanotecnología, IMN-CNM, CSIC, Calle Isaac Newton 8, Tres Cantos, Madrid 28760, Spain.
2
School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Correspondence to: Prof. Marisol Martin-Gonzalez, Instituto de Micro y Nanotecnología, IMN-CNM, CSIC, Calle Isaac Newton
8, Tres Cantos, Madrid 28760, Spain. E-mail: marisol.martin@csic.es; Prof. Neophytos Neophytou, School of Engineering,
University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. E-mail: n.neophytou@warwick.ac.uk

How to cite this article: Martin-Gonzalez, M.; Lohani, K.; Neophytou, N. Phonon and electron transport engineering for enhanced
thermoelectric performance and the challenges of device integration. Energy Mater. 2025, 5, 500121. https://dx.doi.org/10.
20517/energymater.2025.32

Received: 7 Feb 2025 First Decision: 11 Mar 2025 Revised: 25 Apr 2025 Accepted: 30 Apr 2025 Published: 19 Jun 2025
Academic Editors: Sung Son Jae, Bin Wang Copy Editor: Fangling Lan Production Editor: Fangling Lan

Abstract
Thermoelectricity has long been recognized as a transformative technology for power generation and cooling,
owing to its capability to convert heat directly into electricity and vice versa, thereby facilitating cost-effective and
environmentally friendly energy conversion. Following a period of modest activity, the field has experienced a
remarkable resurgence since 2000, driven by significant advancements in the development of a diverse array of
new materials and compounds, alongside enhanced capabilities for controlled nanostructuring. This rapid growth
and the innovative breakthroughs observed over the past two decades can be largely attributed to a deeper
understanding of the physical properties at the nanoscale. Among the various thermoelectric materials,
nanostructured variants exhibit the highest potential for commercial application due to their unprecedented
thermoelectric performance, which arises from substantial reductions in thermal conductivity. However, further
advancements will not rely solely on nanostructuring; they will also necessitate novel electronic structure design
concepts that require a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of electronic and phonon transport.
These developments present significant opportunities for thermoelectric energy harvesting, power generation, and
cooling applications. This article aims to summarize and elucidate the breakthroughs reported in recent years,
discuss future avenues that integrate nanostructuring concepts with the rich electronic structures of novel
materials, and provide a critical overview of the future directions in thermoelectric materials research. Additionally,

© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

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