Thermoelectric materials, suitability

We note also ternary alkaline earth materials suitable for high-temperature thermoelectric applications, such as... 

Silvery, artificial element generated by beta decay from a plutonium isotope (239Pu). Chemically similar to gadolinium. Like Eu and Gd, Am and Cm are difficult to separate. It can be produced in kilogram amounts. The most common isotope is 244Cm with a half-life of 18.1 years. Is used for thermoelectric nuclide batteries in satellites and pacemakers. It is strongly radioactive and hence also suitable for material analysis. 

CZTS is composed of abundant and non-toxic elements and has a 1.45-1.51 eV band gap with a high optical absorption coefficient (> 104 cm ), which makes it suitable for solar cell absorber layers. CZTS also shows promising thermoelectric properties, with ZT values of up to 0.36 at 700 K. Control of the materials composition has been shown to be fundamental for optimization of its functional properties. Solution processed CZTS absorber layers have provided photovoltaic efficiencies much higher than those obtained by vacuum-deposition techniques. This may be attributed to the better control of the composition and crystal-phase homogeneity by solution processing. Therefore, solution based routes for the preparation of solar absorber materials and solar cells are moving more and more into focus of scientific and industrial research. 

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