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  • Title: Surfactant-free synthesis of Bi2Te3-Te micro-nano heterostructure with enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit.
    Author: Zhang Y, Wang H, Kräemer S, Shi Y, Zhang F, Snedaker M, Ding K, Moskovits M, Snyder GJ, Stucky GD.
    Journal: ACS Nano; 2011 Apr 26; 5(4):3158-65. PubMed ID: 21417452.
    Abstract:
    An ideal thermoelectric material would be a semiconductor with high electrical conductivity and relatively low thermal conductivity: an "electron crystal, phonon glass". Introducing nanoscale heterostructures into the bulk TE matrix is one way of achieving this intuitively anomalous electron/phonon transport behavior. The heterostructured interfaces are expected to play a significant role in phonon scattering to reduce thermal conductivity and in the energy-dependent scattering of electrical carriers to improve the Seebeck coefficient. A nanoparticle building block assembly approach is plausible to fabricate three-dimensional heterostructured materials on a bulk commercial scale. However, a key problem in applying this strategy is the possible negative impact on TE performance of organic residue from the nanoparticle capping ligands. Herein, we report a wet chemical, surfactant-free, low-temperature, and easily up-scalable strategy for the synthesis of nanoscale heterophase Bi(2)Te(3)-Te via a galvanic replacement reaction. The micro-nano heterostructured material is fabricated bottom-up, by mixing the heterophase with commercial Bi(2)Te(3). This unique structure shows an enhanced zT value of ∼0.4 at room temperature. This heterostructure has one of the highest figures of merit among bismuth telluride systems yet achieved by a wet chemical bottom-up assembly. In addition, it shows a 40% enhancement of the figure of merit over our lab-made material without nanoscale heterostructures. This enhancement is mainly due to the decrease in the thermal conductivity while maintaining the power factor. Overall, this cost-efficient and room-temperature synthesis methodology provides the potential for further improvement and large-scale thermoelectric applications.
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