Ductile Inorganic Thermoelectrics: Advances, Challenges, and Perspectives

Abstract Thermoelectric technology enables direct and reversible heat‐into‐electricity conversion, offering a promising avenue to address the ongoing global energy crisis. A ductile inorganic semiconductor, combining good mechanical properties, strong bandgap tunability, and decent electrical performance, is of considerable interest in the thermoelectric community, making it a promising candidate for wearable microelectronic devices. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in plastic inorganic thermoelectric materials. A basic understanding of crystal structures, electronic band structures, and thermoelectric properties is first provided. After that, the correlation between mechanical properties and plastic deformation mechanisms of ductile inorganic semiconductors is systematically investigated. Next, several strategies, such as doping and alloying, to optimize the mechanical and thermoelectric properties of plastic inorganic semiconductors are presented. Moreover, the advantages of plastic inorganic semiconductors over other conventional thermoelectric materials in flexible, wearable thermoelectric devices are highlighted. Finally, the currently encountered challenges and future application prospects of flexible inorganic thermoelectric materials are discussed, aiming to guide further advancements in flexible thermoelectric materials and devices.