Oxide Perovskite BaSnO3: A Promising High-Temperature Thermoelectric Material for Transparent Conducting Oxides

Energy conversion technology must be developed to ensure energy sustainability. Thermoelectric (TE) materials provide an effective means to solve the energy crisis. As a potential TE candidate, the TE properties of perovskites have received attention extensively. We here investigate the TE transport properties of BaSnO3 of the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) by first-principles calculations. We find that the BaSnO3 perovskite exhibits outstanding dynamic and thermal stabilities, which provide excellent electronic and thermal transport properties simultaneously. These properties contribute to the remarkable Seebeck coefficient and power factor, which give rise to the ZT values of n-0.37 and p-1.52 at 900 K. Additionally, doping and nanostructure open prospects for effectively improving the TE properties of BaSnO3. Our work provides a basis for further optimizing the TE transport properties of cubic BaSnO3 and may have worthwhile practical significance for applying cubic perovskite to the high-temperature thermoelectric field.