ABSTRACT
The Seebeck coefficient a, the electrical conductivity s, and the total thermal conductivity l (given by the
sum of the lattice and the electronic contributions l
and l
) are all dependent on the material’s
composition, atomic arrangement, and electronic band structure. Generally speaking, these systems may
be studied either emphasizing the band structure view typical of physicists or the chemical bond view
typical of chemists. The authors try to combine these two perspectives in this chapter wherever it is
possible and convenient. Native defects, doping, and nanostructuring may affect significantly the
properties of the TE materials. In some cases, it is possible to account for these effects either by studying
the perturbations they induce on the electronic band structure of a regularly periodic system, or by
viewing the defect as a real space local modification both of the crystal atomic structure and of the
bonding network.
