The thermoelectric conversion material

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED : To provide a novel general-purpose thermoelectric conversion material which enables the achievement of high durability and the remarkable increase in a Seebeck coefficient serving as a thermoelectric conversion performance evaluation index by combining only inexpensive and safe elements.SOLUTION : A compound comprises a copper element and an oxygen element as primary components, but it does not include, as its primary component, a rare metal, a rare earth metal, or a noble metal. The Seebeck coefficient of the compound at a temperature of 400-1100 K is 150 μV/K or higher in absolute value. The compound is preferably expressed by one of the chemical formulas of : MCuO, MCuO, MCuOand CuMO, where M represents an element, and the element M is preferably includes, as a primary component, one of H, C, N, Na, Mg, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Fe and Zn.