Bilayer Excitons in Two-Dimensional Nanostructures for Greatly Enhanced Thermoelectric Efficiency

Generating electricity from a temperature gradient (due to waste heat from an engine or power plant, say) is seen as a significant aspect of the energy economy. Here the authors propose a thermoelectric device that takes advantage of bilayer excitons, electron-hole bound states that can form at an interface. By enhancing both thermopower and electrical conductivity, the counterflow construction of such bilayer-exciton systems can increase the thermoelectric figure of merit by an order of magnitude, compared to that of a bulk material.