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    Learning thermoelectric transport from crystal structures via multiscale graph neural network

    Yuxuan Zeng1, Wei Cao1,2,*, Yijing Zuo2, Fang Lyu2, Wenhao Xie1, Tan Peng2, Yue Hou1, Ling Miao3, Ziyu Wang1,2,4,† et al.

    Jing Shi2

    • 1School of Integrated Circuits, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China
    • 2Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-Structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China
    • 3School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China
    • 4School of Physics and Microelectronics, Key Laboratory of Materials Physics of Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, People’s Republic of China

    • *Contact author: wei_cao@whu.edu.cn
    • †Contact author: zywang@whu.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 014019 – Published 7 July, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/m8nb-bbp8

    Abstract

    Graph neural networks (GNNs) are designed to extract latent patterns from graph-structured data, making them particularly well suited for crystal representation learning. Here, we propose a GNN model tailored for estimating electronic transport coefficients in inorganic thermoelectric crystals. The model encodes crystal structures and physicochemical properties in a multiscale manner, encompassing global, atomic, bond, and angular levels. It achieves state-of-the-art performance on benchmark datasets with remarkable extrapolative capability. By combining the proposed GNN with ab initio calculations, we successfully identify compounds exhibiting outstanding electronic transport properties and further perform interpretability analyses from both global and atomic perspectives, tracing the origins of their distinct transport behaviors. Interestingly, the decision process of the model naturally reveals underlying physical patterns, offering new insights into computer-assisted materials design.

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