“…In this context, waste heat utilization employing thermoelectrics (TE), a heritage space technology for power generation, appears very promising and relies on the ability to attain low-cost materials with a high TE figure of merit ( zT ). , As a dimensionless parameter, zT is commonly used for determining the cumulative efficacy of thermal and electrical transport properties in materials for TE conversion and is expressed as italiczT = ( S 2 σ κ ) T , where S , σ, and κ represent the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity at the absolute temperature ( T ), respectively . High zT is desirable for efficient TE conversion, and is observed largely in expensive chalcogenide-based semiconductors constituting toxic and/or costly materials such as Bi 2 Te 3, − PbTe, − GeTe, , and SnSe. − Thus, in recent years, many inexpensive and nontoxic options, primarily in half Heuslers − and silicides − based alloys, are actively explored for TE applications.…”