Thermal conductivity is one of the most fundamental properties of solid materials. The thermal conductivity of ideal crystal materials has been widely studied over the past hundreds years. On the contrary, for amorphous materials that have valuable applications in flexible electronics, wearable electrics, artificial intelligence chips, thermal protection, advanced detectors, thermoelectrics, and other fields, their thermal properties are relatively rarely reported. Moreover, recent research indicates that the thermal conductivity of amorphous materials is quite different from that of ideal crystal materials. In this article, the authors systematically review the fundamental physical aspects of thermal conductivity in amorphous materials. They discuss the method to distinguish the different heat carriers (propagons, diffusons, and locons) and the relative contribution from them to thermal conductivity. In addition, various influencing factors, such as size, temperature, and interfaces, are addressed, and a series of interesting anomalies are presented. Finally, the authors discuss a number of open problems on thermal conductivity of amorphous materials and a brief summary is provided.

Monolayer SnP3 is a novel two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor material with high carrier mobility and large optical absorption coefficient, implying its potential applications in the photovoltaic and thermoelectric (TE) fields.

Monolayer KAgX are a class of novel two-dimensional (2D) layered materials with efficient optical absorption and superior carrier mobility, signifying their potential application prospect in photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) fields. Motivated by the recent theoretical studies on the KAgX monolayer, we carried out systematic investigations on the TE performance of KAgS and KAgSe monolayers, employing density functional theory (DFT) and semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation (BTE). For both KAgSe and KAgS monolayers, large Gruneisen parameters, low group velocities, and short phonon scattering time greatly hinder their heat transport and result in an ultralow thermal conductivity, 0.26 and 0.33 W m −1 K −1 at 300 K, respectively. A twofold degeneracy appearing at the Γ point and the abrupt slope of the density of states (DOS) near the Fermi level give rise to high Seebeck coefficients of KAgX monolayers. Due to the ultralow thermal conductivity and excellent electronic transport performance, the ZT values as high as 4.65 (3.11) and 4.05 (2.63) at 500 (300) K in the n-type doping for KAgSe and KAgS monolayers are obtained. The exceptional performance of KAgX monolayers sheds light on their immense potential applications in the medium-temperature (around 300−500 K) thermoelectric devices and greatly stimulates further experimental synthesis and validation.

The demands for waste heat energy recovery from industrial production, solar energy, and electronic devices have resulted in increasing attention being focused on thermoelectric materials. Over the past two decades, significant progress is achieved in inorganic thermoelectric materials. In addition, with the proliferation of wireless mobile devices, economical, efficient, lightweight, and bio‐friendly organic thermoelectric (OTE) materials have gradually become promising candidates for thermoelectric devices used in room‐temperature environments. With the development of experimental measurement techniques, the manufacturing for nanoscale thermoelectric devices has become possible. A large number of studies have demonstrated the excellent performance of nanoscale thermoelectric devices, and further improvement of their thermoelectric conversion efficiency is expected to have a significant impact on global energy consumption. Here, the development of experimental measurement methods, theoretical models, and performance modulation for nanoscale OTE materials are summarized. Suggestions and prospects for the future development of these devices are also provided.

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