Faculty Directory
G. Jeffrey Snyder

Professor of Materials Science & Engineering

Contact

2220 Campus Drive
Cook Hall
Evanston, IL 60208-3109

Email G. Jeffrey Snyder

Website

Thermoelectric Materials and Devices


Departments

Materials Science and Engineering

Affiliations

PhD Program in Applied Physics


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Education

Ph.D Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

M.S. Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

B.A. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY


Research Interests

Characterization and analysis of electrical and thermal interface resistance in semiconductors. Grain boundary complexion engineering for high thermoelectric performance; band structure engineering of thermoelectric materials; zintl materials for thermoelectric power generation; solid-state physics and themodynamics of thermoelectric materials; thermoelectric engineering; transport measurements at elevated temperatures; energy efficiency.


Selected Publications

1.     E. Isotta et al., "Microscale Imaging of Thermal Conductivity Suppression at Grain Boundaries" Advanced Materials, 2302777 (2023)

2.     G. J. Snyder et al., "Weighted Mobility" Advanced Materials, 2001537 (2020)

3.     G. J. Snyder, E. S. Toberer “Complex thermoelectric materials” Nature Mater.7, 105 (2008).

4.     R. Gurunathan, R. Hanus, and G. J. Snyder, “Alloy scattering of phonons” Materials Horizons (2020)

5.     S. I. Kim, H. S. Kim, Snyder, S. W. Kim, et al. “Dense dislocation arrays embedded in grain boundaries for high-performance bulk thermoelectrics” Science, 348, 6230 (2015)

6.     Y. Pei, H. Wang and G. J. Snyder “Band Engineering of Thermoelectric Materials” Adv. Mat. 24, 6125 (2012)

7.     Riley Hanus, et al, “Thermal transport in defective and disordered materials” Appl. Phys. Rev. 8, 031311 (2021)

8.     S. Ohno et al., “Phase Boundary Mapping to Obtain n-type Mg₃Sb₂-Based Thermoelectrics” Joule 2, 141 (2018)

9.     E. S. Toberer, A. F. May and G. J. Snyder “Zintl Chemistry for Designing High Efficiency Thermoelectric Materials” Chemistry of Materials22, 624 (2010)

10.  Jimmy J. Kuo et al., “Grain boundary dominated charge transport in Mg3Sb2-based compounds” Energy & Environmental Science 11, 429 (2018)

11.  Yanzhong Pei, Xiaoya Shi, Aaron LaLonde, Heng Wang, Lidong Chen and G. Jeffrey Snyder "Convergence of Electronic Bands for High Performance Bulk Thermoelectrics" Nature 473, 66 (2011) 

Stephen Kang, G. J. Snyder "Charge Transport Model for Conducting Polymers" Nature Materials 16, 252 (2017) 

Nanomaterials for Thermoelectrics. Synthesis and characterization of self-assembled lamellae and precipitates with epitaxy-like interfaces that emulate high-efficiency superlattice materials which are normally grown by thin film methods. Use of bulk processing methods suitable for commercialization. 

Band Structure Engineering of Thermoelectric Materials.  Use of alloying to control band convergence for high valley degeneracy. Demonstration of high zT ~1.5 in several PbTe, PbSe n-type and p-type systems ideal for waste heat recovery.

Zintl Materials for Thermoelectric power generation.  Spearheaded exploration of Zintl phases for thermoelectric applications.  Demonstrated high efficiency in Yb14MnSb11 and electronic tunability in Zintl phases.  Discovered interstitial mechanism for low thermal conductivity in Zn4Sb3

Solid-State Physics and Thermodynamics of Thermoelectric Materials Predictive modeling of electronic and thermal transport properties of heavily doped semiconductors at high temperatures. Development of thermoelectric compatibility and related nonequilibrium thermydynamic concepts for rational materials development of segmented and cascaded thermoelectric devices.

Thermoelectric Engineering. Hierarchical engineering principles for design of thermal to electric power generation and thermal management systems. Thermal modeling. Microfabrication techniques for thermoelectric MEMS devices.

Transport Measurements at Elevated Temperatures.  4-point thermopower measurement system for Seebeck coefficient and large temperature gradient thermoelectric voltage.  Electrical conductivity and Hall Effect to 1000 C.  Thermal diffusivity and heat capacity.

Energy Efficiency.  Increased energy efficiency from waste heat recovery, thermal insulation, localized heating and cooling. Higher efficiency heat to electricity. Efficient utilization of energy through cogeneration of heat and electricity.