Thermoelectric material (IMAGE) University of Miami Caption Lithium purple-bronze (LiPB) is a thermoelectric material comprised of aligned conducting, zig-zag chains of molybdenum and oxygen (left image, pink and white circles with green bonds). When an electric current was applied in a direction slightly misaligned with the chains (depicted as gray lines, right image), heat flowed perpendicular to the current, a phenomenon known as the transverse Peltier effect. The efficiency of this effect in LiPB was among the largest known for a single compound. Credit Dr. Joshua Cohn, University of Miami Usage Restrictions Use with caption and credit. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.