Thermoelectric Properties of the Group V Semimetals

The discovery of the Seebeck effect in 1821 was made on a bismuth-antimony couple, while the

first “practical” thermoelectric generator proposed by Altenkirch in 1911 was also based on bismuth

and antimony elements. More recently, the breakthrough on low-dimensional thermoelectricity

revealed the potential for bismuth and its alloy with antimony for small-scale refrigeration. In addition,

bismuth is present in most compounds used for thermoelectric refrigeration.