Recent Progress in SnTe: An Eco-Friendly and High-Performance Chalcogenide Thermoelectric Material

Recent advances in high-performance thermoelectric materials have sparked significant interest, particularly in SnTe, a mid-temperature group-IV chalcogenide that is both eco-friendly and cost-effective. However, compared to other group-IV chalcogenides, there remains a substantial scope for enhancing the thermoelectric performance of SnTe. In the past four years (since 2020), numerous compelling reports have proposed novel strategies to narrow this gap and boost the performance of SnTe-based materials, thereby building upon previous advancements. These recent advancements are comprehensively summarized in this timely review. This review reports three essential facets critical to the advancement of high-performance SnTe materials: electrical properties, thermal properties, and the overly overlooked mechanical properties. First, a brief theoretical exposition is presented, subsequently detailing empirically verified techniques for achieving superior SnTe-based materials. The intrinsic prevalence of tin vacancies (VSn) in SnTe classifies it as a p-type thermoelectric material. Here, it is unveiled for the first time, recent significant breakthroughs in the development of n-type SnTe. This advancement enables the development of an all-SnTe-based thermoelectric device. Additional attention is devoted to emerging trends that further amplify the performance of SnTe. With persistent efforts, achieving a ZT greater than 2 in SnTe-based materials is inevitable.