{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T14:29:18Z","timestamp":1778509758566,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]],"date-time":"2026-05-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778371200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"DICAM-EXC project","award":["L232\/2016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["L232\/2016"]}]},{"name":"Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research","award":["PRF2019-D4P2"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PRF2019-D4P2"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The need for sustainable and cost-effective thermoelectric materials has brought attention to earth-abundant and mineral compounds, like Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS). In this work, CZTS nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via the sol\u2013gel method using environmentally friendly solvents based on water and ethanol mixtures. The resulting CZTS NPs were then processed into inks through ball milling to produce a thin-film thermoelectric generator (TEG). Structural and microstructural properties were investigated via X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, confirming the kesterite CZTS phase upon sintering. The chalcogenide exhibited p-type semiconductor behaviour, with a Seebeck coefficient reaching ~69 \u00b5V\/K at 385 K. Van-der-Pauw measurements of conductivity confirmed a non-degenerate semiconducting behaviour, achieving ~1.77 S\/cm at 323 K. A two-leg CZTS thin-film TEG reaching a maximum power output of 32(3) nW at a \u0394T ~160 K was used, measured with a home-made setup. The volume-specific power of the generator reached 4\u00d710\u22124\u00a0\u03bcW cm\u22123 K\u22122. These results point to an effective use of sol\u2013gel-based techniques to produce a functional thermoelectric generator, providing a costless and environmentally friendly approach to CZTS NPs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19101971","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T13:10:42Z","timestamp":1778505042000},"page":"1971","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Thermoelectric Generator Based on Kesterite (Cu2ZnSnS4) Synthesized via Sol\u2013Gel Method"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Afef","family":"Tarhouni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"LaphyMNE Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences of Gabes, University of Gabes, Gabes 6072, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1053-4711","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcelo Augusto","family":"Malagutti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4441-1544","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tanguy","family":"Bernard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8135-6054","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Narges","family":"Ataollahi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eleonora","family":"Isotta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Chiappini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CSMFO Laboratory, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) Photonics Unit, Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies (IFN-CNR), Via Alla Cascata 56\/C, 39123 Trento, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hassen","family":"Dahman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LaphyMNE Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences of Gabes, University of Gabes, Gabes 6072, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4459-3779","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lassaad","family":"El Mir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LaphyMNE Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences of Gabes, University of Gabes, Gabes 6072, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1097-3917","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paolo","family":"Scardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1007\/s003390050984","article-title":"Electronic properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 heterojunction solar cells-recent achievements, current understanding, and future challenges","volume":"69","author":"Rau","year":"1999","journal-title":"Appl. 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