Defects Engineering in Thermoelectric Copper-Based Sulfides

Among the various possibilities offered by the periodic table, copper-rich sulfides represent a formidable source for the discovery of low cost and environmentally benign thermoelectric materials. Copper-rich sulfides form an important class where univalent copper is the dominant element, giving the possibility of creating hole carriers in the conductive “Cu–S” network for the generation of <i>p</i>-type thermoelectrics. During this presentation, recent advances in synthetic minerals and new sulphide compounds will be shown. Some peculiar structural features in connection with atomic and nanoscale order/disorder phenomena and defects engineering were carefully examined to establish rules and correlations between the crystal structures, nano-microstructures, electronic structures, vibrational and thermoelectric properties.