TY - JOUR AB - Production of hydrogen at large scale requires development of non-noble, inexpensive, and high-performing catalysts for constructing water-splitting devices. Herein, we report the synthesis of Zn-doped NiO heterostructure (ZnNiO) catalysts at room temperature via a coprecipitation method followed by drying (at 80 °C, 6 h) and calcination at an elevated temperature of 400 °C for 5 h under three distinct conditions, namely, air, N2, and vacuum. The vacuum-synthesized catalyst demonstrates a low overpotential of 88 mV at −10 mA cm–2 and a small Tafel slope of 73 mV dec–1 suggesting relatively higher charge transfer kinetics for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) compared with the specimens synthesized under N2 or O2 atmosphere. It also demonstrates an oxygen evolution (OER) overpotential of 260 mV at 10 mA cm–2 with a low Tafel slope of 63 mV dec–1. In a full-cell water-splitting device, the vacuum-synthesized ZnNiO heterostructure demonstrates a cell voltage of 1.94 V at 50 mA cm–2 and shows remarkable stability over 24 h at a high current density of 100 mA cm–2. It is also demonstrated in this study that Zn-doping, surface, and interface engineering in transition-metal oxides play a crucial role in efficient electrocatalytic water splitting. Also, the results obtained from density functional theory (DFT + U = 0–8 eV), where U is the on-site Coulomb repulsion parameter also known as Hubbard U, based electronic structure calculations confirm that Zn doping constructively modifies the electronic structure, in both the valence band and the conduction band, and found to be suitable in tailoring the carrier’s effective masses of electrons and holes. The decrease in electron’s effective masses together with large differences between the effective masses of electrons and holes is noticed, which is found to be mainly responsible for achieving the best water-splitting performance from a 9% Zn-doped NiO sample prepared under vacuum. AU - Kiran, Gundegowda Kalligowdanadoddi AU - Singh, Saurabh AU - Mahato, Neelima AU - Sreekanth, Thupakula Venkata Madhukar AU - Dillip, Gowra Raghupathy AU - Yoo, Kisoo AU - Kim, Jonghoon ID - 14828 IS - 1 JF - ACS Applied Energy Materials KW - Electrical and Electronic Engineering KW - Materials Chemistry KW - Electrochemistry KW - Energy Engineering and Power Technology KW - Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous) SN - 2574-0962 TI - Interface engineering modulation combined with electronic structure modification of Zn-doped NiO heterostructure for efficient water-splitting activity VL - 7 ER - TY - JOUR AB - As a key liquid organic hydrogen carrier, investigating the decomposition of formic acid (HCOOH) on the Pd (1 1 1) transition metal surface is imperative for harnessing hydrogen energy. Despite a multitude of studies, the major mechanisms and key intermediates involved in the dehydrogenation process of formic acid remain a great topic of debate due to ambiguous adsorbate interactions. In this research, we develop an advanced microkinetic model based on first-principles calculations, accounting for adsorbate–adsorbate interactions. Our study unveils a comprehensive mechanism for the Pd (1 1 1) surface, highlighting the significance of coverage effects in formic acid dehydrogenation. Our findings unequivocally demonstrate that H coverage on the Pd (1 1 1) surface renders formic acid more susceptible to decompose into H2 and CO2 through COOH intermediates. Consistent with experimental results, the selectivity of H2 in the decomposition of formic acid on the Pd (1 1 1) surface approaches 100 %. Considering the influence of H coverage, our kinetic analysis aligns perfectly with experimental values at a temperature of 373 K. AU - Yao, Zihao AU - Liu, Xu AU - Bunting, Rhys AU - Wang, Jianguo ID - 15114 JF - Chemical Engineering Science SN - 0009-2509 TI - Unravelling the reaction mechanism for H2 production via formic acid decomposition over Pd: Coverage-dependent microkinetic modeling VL - 291 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Thermoelectric materials convert heat into electricity, with a broad range of applications near room temperature (RT). However, the library of RT high-performance materials is limited. Traditional high-temperature synthetic methods constrain the range of materials achievable, hindering the ability to surpass crystal structure limitations and engineer defects. Here, a solution-based synthetic approach is introduced, enabling RT synthesis of powders and exploration of densification at lower temperatures to influence the material's microstructure. The approach is exemplified by Ag2Se, an n-type alternative to bismuth telluride. It is demonstrated that the concentration of Ag interstitials, grain boundaries, and dislocations are directly correlated to the sintering temperature, and achieve a figure of merit of 1.1 from RT to 100 °C after optimization. Moreover, insights into and resolve Ag2Se's challenges are provided, including stoichiometry issues leading to irreproducible performances. This work highlights the potential of RT solution synthesis in expanding the repertoire of high-performance thermoelectric materials for practical applications. AU - Kleinhanns, Tobias AU - Milillo, Francesco AU - Calcabrini, Mariano AU - Fiedler, Christine AU - Horta, Sharona AU - Balazs, Daniel AU - Strumolo, Marissa J. AU - Hasler, Roger AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Tkadletz, Michael AU - Brutchey, Richard L. AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 15182 JF - Advanced Energy Materials SN - 1614-6832 TI - A route to high thermoelectric performance: Solution‐based control of microstructure and composition in Ag2Se ER - TY - JOUR AB - Reducing defects boosts room-temperature performance of a thermoelectric device AU - Navita, Navita AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 15166 IS - 6688 JF - Science SN - 0036-8075 TI - Electron highways are cooler VL - 383 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The development of cost-effective, high-activity and stable bifunctional catalysts for the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER) is essential for zinc–air batteries (ZABs) to reach the market. Such catalysts must contain multiple adsorption/reaction sites to cope with the high demands of reversible oxygen electrodes. Herein, we propose a high entropy alloy (HEA) based on relatively abundant elements as a bifunctional ORR/OER catalyst. More specifically, we detail the synthesis of a CrMnFeCoNi HEA through a low-temperature solution-based approach. Such HEA displays superior OER performance with an overpotential of 265 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm2, and a 37.9 mV/dec Tafel slope, well above the properties of a standard commercial catalyst based on RuO2. This high performance is partially explained by the presence of twinned defects, the incidence of large lattice distortions, and the electronic synergy between the different components, being Cr key to decreasing the energy barrier of the OER rate-determining step. CrMnFeCoNi also displays superior ORR performance with a half-potential of 0.78 V and an onset potential of 0.88 V, comparable with commercial Pt/C. The potential gap (Egap) between the OER overpotential and the ORR half-potential of CrMnFeCoNi is just 0.734 V. Taking advantage of these outstanding properties, ZABs are assembled using the CrMnFeCoNi HEA as air cathode and a zinc foil as the anode. The assembled cells provide an open-circuit voltage of 1.489 V, i.e. 90% of its theoretical limit (1.66 V), a peak power density of 116.5 mW/cm2, and a specific capacity of 836 mAh/g that stays stable for more than 10 days of continuous cycling, i.e. 720 cycles @ 8 mA/cm2 and 16.6 days of continuous cycling, i.e. 1200 cycles @ 5 mA/cm2. AU - He, Ren AU - Yang, Linlin AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Wang, Xiang AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Zhang, Ting AU - Li, Lingxiao AU - Liang, Zhifu AU - Chen, Jingwei AU - Li, Junshan AU - Ostovari Moghaddam, Ahmad AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Xu, Ying AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 12832 IS - 4 JF - Energy Storage Materials TI - A CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloy boosting oxygen evolution/reduction reactions and zinc-air battery performance VL - 58 ER - TY - JOUR AB - There is a need for the development of lead-free thermoelectric materials for medium-/high-temperature applications. Here, we report a thiol-free tin telluride (SnTe) precursor that can be thermally decomposed to produce SnTe crystals with sizes ranging from tens to several hundreds of nanometers. We further engineer SnTe–Cu2SnTe3 nanocomposites with a homogeneous phase distribution by decomposing the liquid SnTe precursor containing a dispersion of Cu1.5Te colloidal nanoparticles. The presence of Cu within the SnTe and the segregated semimetallic Cu2SnTe3 phase effectively improves the electrical conductivity of SnTe while simultaneously reducing the lattice thermal conductivity without compromising the Seebeck coefficient. Overall, power factors up to 3.63 mW m–1 K–2 and thermoelectric figures of merit up to 1.04 are obtained at 823 K, which represent a 167% enhancement compared with pristine SnTe. AU - Nan, Bingfei AU - Song, Xuan AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Yang, Linlin AU - Horta, Sharona AU - Li, Junshan AU - Lim, Khak Ho AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 13092 IS - 19 JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces SN - 1944-8244 TI - Bottom-up synthesis of SnTe-based thermoelectric composites VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The direct, solid state, and reversible conversion between heat and electricity using thermoelectric devices finds numerous potential uses, especially around room temperature. However, the relatively high material processing cost limits their real applications. Silver selenide (Ag2Se) is one of the very few n-type thermoelectric (TE) materials for room-temperature applications. Herein, we report a room temperature, fast, and aqueous-phase synthesis approach to produce Ag2Se, which can be extended to other metal chalcogenides. These materials reach TE figures of merit (zT) of up to 0.76 at 380 K. To improve these values, bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) particles also prepared in an aqueous solution are incorporated into the Ag2Se matrix. In this way, a series of Ag2Se/Bi2S3 composites with Bi2S3 wt % of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 are prepared by solution blending and hot-press sintering. The presence of Bi2S3 significantly improves the Seebeck coefficient and power factor while at the same time decreasing the thermal conductivity with no apparent drop in electrical conductivity. Thus, a maximum zT value of 0.96 is achieved in the composites with 1.0 wt % Bi2S3 at 370 K. Furthermore, a high average zT value (zTave) of 0.93 in the 300–390 K range is demonstrated. AU - Nan, Bingfei AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Lim, Khak Ho AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Han, Xu AU - Zuo, Yong AU - Li, Junshan AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 13093 JF - ACS Applied Electronic Materials TI - Engineering of thermoelectric composites based on silver selenide in aqueous solution and ambient temperature ER - TY - JOUR AB - AgSbSe2 is a promising thermoelectric (TE) p-type material for applications in the middle-temperature range. AgSbSe2 is characterized by relatively low thermal conductivities and high Seebeck coefficients, but its main limitation is moderate electrical conductivity. Herein, we detail an efficient and scalable hot-injection synthesis route to produce AgSbSe2 nanocrystals (NCs). To increase the carrier concentration and improve the electrical conductivity, these NCs are doped with Sn2+ on Sb3+ sites. Upon processing, the Sn2+ chemical state is conserved using a reducing NaBH4 solution to displace the organic ligand and anneal the material under a forming gas flow. The TE properties of the dense materials obtained from the consolidation of the NCs using a hot pressing are then characterized. The presence of Sn2+ ions replacing Sb3+ significantly increases the charge carrier concentration and, consequently, the electrical conductivity. Opportunely, the measured Seebeck coefficient varied within a small range upon Sn doping. The excellent performance obtained when Sn2+ ions are prevented from oxidation is rationalized by modeling the system. Calculated band structures disclosed that Sn doping induces convergence of the AgSbSe2 valence bands, accounting for an enhanced electronic effective mass. The dramatically enhanced carrier transport leads to a maximized power factor for AgSb0.98Sn0.02Se2 of 0.63 mW m–1 K–2 at 640 K. Thermally, phonon scattering is significantly enhanced in the NC-based materials, yielding an ultralow thermal conductivity of 0.3 W mK–1 at 666 K. Overall, a record-high figure of merit (zT) is obtained at 666 K for AgSb0.98Sn0.02Se2 at zT = 1.37, well above the values obtained for undoped AgSbSe2, at zT = 0.58 and state-of-art Pb- and Te-free materials, which makes AgSb0.98Sn0.02Se2 an excellent p-type candidate for medium-temperature TE applications. AU - Liu, Yu AU - Li, Mingquan AU - Wan, Shanhong AU - Lim, Khak Ho AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Li, Junshan AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Hong, Min AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 13235 IS - 12 JF - ACS Nano SN - 1936-0851 TI - Surface chemistry and band engineering in AgSbSe₂: Toward high thermoelectric performance VL - 17 ER - TY - THES AB - High-performance semiconductors rely upon precise control of heat and charge transport. This can be achieved by precisely engineering defects in polycrystalline solids. There are multiple approaches to preparing such polycrystalline semiconductors, and the transformation of solution-processed colloidal nanoparticles is appealing because colloidal nanoparticles combine low cost with structural and compositional tunability along with rich surface chemistry. However, the multiple processes from nanoparticle synthesis to the final bulk nanocomposites are very complex. They involve nanoparticle purification, post-synthetic modifications, and finally consolidation (thermal treatments and densification). All these properties dictate the final material’s composition and microstructure, ultimately affecting its functional properties. This thesis explores the synthesis, surface chemistry and consolidation of colloidal semiconductor nanoparticles into dense solids. In particular, the transformations that take place during these processes, and their effect on the material’s transport properties are evaluated. AU - Calcabrini, Mariano ID - 12885 SN - 2663-337X TI - Nanoparticle-based semiconductor solids: From synthesis to consolidation ER - TY - JOUR AB - The power factor of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) film can be significantly improved by optimizing the oxidation level of the film in oxidation and reduction processes. However, precise control over the oxidation and reduction effects in PEDOT:PSS remains a challenge, which greatly sacrifices both S and σ. Here, we propose a two-step post-treatment using a mixture of ethylene glycol (EG) and Arginine (Arg) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) in sequence to engineer high-performance PEDOT:PSS thermoelectric films. The high-polarity EG dopant removes the excess non-ionized PSS and induces benzenoid-to-quinoid conformational change in the PEDOT:PSS films. In particular, basic amino acid Arg tunes the oxidation level of PEDOT:PSS and prevents the films from over-oxidation during H2SO4 post-treatment, leading to increased S. The following H2SO4 post-treatment further induces highly orientated lamellar stacking microstructures to increase σ, yielding a maximum power factor of 170.6 μW m−1 K−2 at 460 K. Moreover, a novel trigonal-shape thermoelectric device is designed and assembled by the as-prepared PEDOT:PSS films in order to harvest heat via a vertical temperature gradient. An output power density of 33 μW cm−2 is generated at a temperature difference of 40 K, showing the potential application for low-grade wearable electronic devices. AU - Zhang, Li AU - Liu, Xingyu AU - Wu, Ting AU - Xu, Shengduo AU - Suo, Guoquan AU - Ye, Xiaohui AU - Hou, Xiaojiang AU - Yang, Yanling AU - Liu, Qingfeng AU - Wang, Hongqiang ID - 12113 JF - Applied Surface Science KW - Surfaces KW - Coatings and Films KW - Condensed Matter Physics KW - Surfaces and Interfaces KW - General Physics and Astronomy KW - General Chemistry SN - 0169-4332 TI - Two-step post-treatment to deliver high performance thermoelectric device with vertical temperature gradient VL - 613 ER - TY - JOUR AB - High carrier mobility is critical to improving thermoelectric performance over a broad temperature range. However, traditional doping inevitably deteriorates carrier mobility. Herein, we develop a strategy for fine tuning of defects to improve carrier mobility. To begin, n-type PbTe is created by compensating for the intrinsic Pb vacancy in bare PbTe. Excess Pb2+ reduces vacancy scattering, resulting in a high carrier mobility of ∼3400 cm2 V–1 s–1. Then, excess Ag is introduced to compensate for the remaining intrinsic Pb vacancies. We find that excess Ag exhibits a dynamic doping process with increasing temperatures, increasing both the carrier concentration and carrier mobility throughout a wide temperature range; specifically, an ultrahigh carrier mobility ∼7300 cm2 V–1 s–1 is obtained for Pb1.01Te + 0.002Ag at 300 K. Moreover, the dynamic doping-induced high carrier concentration suppresses the bipolar thermal conductivity at high temperatures. The final step is using iodine to optimize the carrier concentration to ∼1019 cm–3. Ultimately, a maximum ZT value of ∼1.5 and a large average ZTave value of ∼1.0 at 300–773 K are obtained for Pb1.01Te0.998I0.002 + 0.002Ag. These findings demonstrate that fine tuning of defects with <0.5% impurities can remarkably enhance carrier mobility and improve thermoelectric performance. AU - Wang, Siqi AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Bai, Shulin AU - Qin, Bingchao AU - Zhu, Yingcai AU - Zhan, Shaoping AU - Zheng, Junqing AU - Tang, Shuwei AU - Zhao, Li Dong ID - 12331 IS - 2 JF - Chemistry of Materials SN - 0897-4756 TI - Fine tuning of defects enables high carrier mobility and enhanced thermoelectric performance of n-type PbTe VL - 35 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Cu2–xS and Cu2–xSe have recently been reported as promising thermoelectric (TE) materials for medium-temperature applications. In contrast, Cu2–xTe, another member of the copper chalcogenide family, typically exhibits low Seebeck coefficients that limit its potential to achieve a superior thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, particularly in the low-temperature range where this material could be effective. To address this, we investigated the TE performance of Cu1.5–xTe–Cu2Se nanocomposites by consolidating surface-engineered Cu1.5Te nanocrystals. This surface engineering strategy allows for precise adjustment of Cu/Te ratios and results in a reversible phase transition at around 600 K in Cu1.5–xTe–Cu2Se nanocomposites, as systematically confirmed by in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction combined with differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The phase transition leads to a conversion from metallic-like to semiconducting-like TE properties. Additionally, a layer of Cu2Se generated around Cu1.5–xTe nanoparticles effectively inhibits Cu1.5–xTe grain growth, minimizing thermal conductivity and decreasing hole concentration. These properties indicate that copper telluride based compounds have a promising thermoelectric potential, translated into a high dimensionless zT of 1.3 at 560 K. AU - Xing, Congcong AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Han, Xu AU - Liu, Yu AU - Nan, Bingfei AU - Ramon, Maria Garcia AU - Lim, Khak Ho AU - Li, Junshan AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Poudel, Bed AU - Nozariasbmarz, Amin AU - Li, Wenjie AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 12915 IS - 9 JF - ACS Nano SN - 1936-0851 TI - Thermoelectric performance of surface-engineered Cu1.5–xTe–Cu2Se nanocomposites VL - 17 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The deployment of direct formate fuel cells (DFFCs) relies on the development of active and stable catalysts for the formate oxidation reaction (FOR). Palladium, providing effective full oxidation of formate to CO2, has been widely used as FOR catalyst, but it suffers from low stability, moderate activity, and high cost. Herein, we detail a colloidal synthesis route for the incorporation of P on Pd2Sn nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are dispersed on carbon black and the obtained composite is used as electrocatalytic material for the FOR. The Pd2Sn0.8P-based electrodes present outstanding catalytic activities with record mass current densities up to 10.0 A mgPd-1, well above those of Pd1.6Sn/C reference electrode. These high current densities are further enhanced by increasing the temperature from 25 °C to 40 °C. The Pd2Sn0.8P electrode also allows for slowing down the rapid current decay that generally happens during operation and can be rapidly re-activated through potential cycling. The excellent catalytic performance obtained is rationalized using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. AU - Montaña-Mora, Guillem AU - Qi, Xueqiang AU - Wang, Xiang AU - Chacón-Borrero, Jesus AU - Martinez-Alanis, Paulina R. AU - Yu, Xiaoting AU - Li, Junshan AU - Xue, Qian AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 12829 JF - Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry SN - 1572-6657 TI - Phosphorous incorporation into palladium tin nanoparticles for the electrocatalytic formate oxidation reaction VL - 936 ER - TY - JOUR AB - A light-triggered fabrication method extends the functionality of printable nanomaterials AU - Balazs, Daniel AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 14404 IS - 6665 JF - Science TI - Widening the use of 3D printing VL - 381 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Physical catalysts often have multiple sites where reactions can take place. One prominent example is single-atom alloys, where the reactive dopant atoms can preferentially locate in the bulk or at different sites on the surface of the nanoparticle. However, ab initio modeling of catalysts usually only considers one site of the catalyst, neglecting the effects of multiple sites. Here, nanoparticles of copper doped with single-atom rhodium or palladium are modeled for the dehydrogenation of propane. Single-atom alloy nanoparticles are simulated at 400–600 K, using machine learning potentials trained on density functional theory calculations, and then the occupation of different single-atom active sites is identified using a similarity kernel. Further, the turnover frequency for all possible sites is calculated for propane dehydrogenation to propene through microkinetic modeling using density functional theory calculations. The total turnover frequencies of the whole nanoparticle are then described from both the population and the individual turnover frequency of each site. Under operating conditions, rhodium as a dopant is found to almost exclusively occupy (111) surface sites while palladium as a dopant occupies a greater variety of facets. Undercoordinated dopant surface sites are found to tend to be more reactive for propane dehydrogenation compared to the (111) surface. It is found that considering the dynamics of the single-atom alloy nanoparticle has a profound effect on the calculated catalytic activity of single-atom alloys by several orders of magnitude. AU - Bunting, Rhys AU - Wodaczek, Felix AU - Torabi, Tina AU - Cheng, Bingqing ID - 13216 IS - 27 JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society KW - Colloid and Surface Chemistry KW - Biochemistry KW - General Chemistry KW - Catalysis SN - 0002-7863 TI - Reactivity of single-atom alloy nanoparticles: Modeling the dehydrogenation of propane VL - 145 ER - TY - JOUR AB - As a bottleneck in the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide, the development of an efficient palladium-based catalyst has garnered great attention. However, elusive active centers and reaction mechanism issues inhibit further optimization of its performance. In this work, advanced microkinetic modeling with the adsorbate–adsorbate interaction and nanoparticle size effect based on first-principles calculations is developed. A full mechanism uncovering the significance of adsorbate–adsorbate interaction is determined on Pd nanoparticles. We demonstrate unambiguously that Pd(100) with main coverage species of O2 and H is beneficial to H2O2 production, being consistent with experimental operando observation, while H2O forms on Pd(111) covered by O species and Pd(211) covered by O and OH species. Kinetic analyses further enable quantitative estimation of the influence of temperature, pressure, and particle size. Large-size Pd nanoparticles are found to achieve a high H2O2 reaction rate when the operating conditions are moderate temperature and higher oxygen partial pressure. We reveal that specific facets of the Pd nanoparticles are crucial factors for their selectivity and activity. Consistent with the experiment, the production of H2O2 is discovered to be more favorable on Pd nanoparticles containing Pd(100) facets. The ratio of H2/O2 induces substantial variations in the coverage of intermediates of O2 and H on Pd(100), resulting in a change in product selectivity. AU - Zhao, Jinyan AU - Yao, Zihao AU - Bunting, Rhys AU - Hu, P. AU - Wang, Jianguo ID - 14663 IS - 22 JF - ACS Catalysis TI - Microkinetic modeling with size-dependent and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions for the direct synthesis of H₂O₂ over Pd nanoparticles VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR AB - In order to demonstrate the stability of newly proposed iridium-based Ir2Cr(In,Sn) and IrRhCr(In,Sn) heusler alloys, we present ab-initio analysis of these alloys by examining various properties to prove their stability. The stability of these alloys can be inferred from different cohesive and formation energies as well as positive phonon frequencies. Their electronic structure results indicate that they are semi-metals in nature. The magnetic moments are computed using the Slater-Pauling formula and exhibit a high value, with the Cr atom contributing the most in all alloys. Mulliken’s charge analysis results show that our alloys contain a range of linkages, mainly ionic and covalent ones. The ductility and mechanical stability of these alloys are confirmed by elastic constants viz. Poisson’s ratio, Pugh’s ratio, and many different types of elastic moduli. AU - Gupta, Shyam Lal AU - Singh, Saurabh AU - Kumar, Sumit AU - Anupam, Unknown AU - Thakur, Samjeet Singh AU - Kumar, Ashish AU - Panwar, Sanjay AU - Diwaker, D. ID - 14652 JF - Physica B: Condensed Matter SN - 0921-4526 TI - Ab-initio stability of Iridium based newly proposed full and quaternary heusler alloys VL - 674 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The use of multimodal readout mechanisms next to label-free real-time monitoring of biomolecular interactions can provide valuable insight into surface-based reaction mechanisms. To this end, the combination of an electrolyte-gated field-effect transistor (EG-FET) with a fiber optic-coupled surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR) probe serving as gate electrode has been investigated to deconvolute surface mass and charge density variations associated to surface reactions. However, applying an electrochemical potential on such gold-coated FO-SPR gate electrodes can induce gradual morphological changes of the thin gold film, leading to an irreversible blue-shift of the SPR wavelength and a substantial signal drift. We show that mild annealing leads to optical and electronic signal stabilization (20-fold lower signal drift than as-sputtered fiber optic gates) and improved overall analytical performance characteristics. The thermal treatment prevents morphological changes of the thin gold-film occurring during operation, hence providing reliable and stable data immediately upon gate voltage application. Thus, the readout output of both transducing principles, the optical FO-SPR and electronic EG-FET, stays constant throughout the whole sensing time-window and the long-term effect of thermal treatment is also improved, providing stable signals even after 1 year of storage. Annealing should therefore be considered a necessary modification for applying fiber optic gate electrodes in real-time multimodal investigations of surface reactions at the solid-liquid interface. AU - Hasler, Roger AU - Steger-Polt, Marie Helene AU - Reiner-Rozman, Ciril AU - Fossati, Stefan AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Aspermair, Patrik AU - Kleber, Christoph AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Dostalek, Jakub AU - Knoll, Wolfgang ID - 13968 JF - Frontiers in Physics TI - Optical and electronic signal stabilization of plasmonic fiber optic gate electrodes: Towards improved real-time dual-mode biosensing VL - 11 ER - TY - JOUR AB - High entropy alloys (HEAs) are highly suitable candidate catalysts for oxygen evolution and reduction reactions (OER/ORR) as they offer numerous parameters for optimizing the electronic structure and catalytic sites. Herein, FeCoNiMoW HEA nanoparticles are synthesized using a solution‐based low‐temperature approach. Such FeCoNiMoW nanoparticles show high entropy properties, subtle lattice distortions, and modulated electronic structure, leading to superior OER performance with an overpotential of 233 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and 276 mV at 100 mA cm−2. Density functional theory calculations reveal the electronic structures of the FeCoNiMoW active sites with an optimized d‐band center position that enables suitable adsorption of OOH* intermediates and reduces the Gibbs free energy barrier in the OER process. Aqueous zinc–air batteries (ZABs) based on this HEA demonstrate a high open circuit potential of 1.59 V, a peak power density of 116.9 mW cm−2, a specific capacity of 857 mAh gZn−1, and excellent stability for over 660 h of continuous charge–discharge cycles. Flexible and solid ZABs are also assembled and tested, displaying excellent charge–discharge performance at different bending angles. This work shows the significance of 4d/5d metal‐modulated electronic structure and optimized adsorption ability to improve the performance of OER/ORR, ZABs, and beyond. AU - He, Ren AU - Yang, Linlin AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Jiang, Daochuan AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Horta, Sharona AU - Liang, Zhifu AU - Lu, Xuan AU - Ostovari Moghaddam, Ahmad AU - Li, Junshan AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Xu, Ying AU - Zhou, Yingtang AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 14434 JF - Advanced Materials KW - Mechanical Engineering KW - Mechanics of Materials KW - General Materials Science SN - 0935-9648 TI - A 3d‐4d‐5d high entropy alloy as a bifunctional oxygen catalyst for robust aqueous zinc–air batteries ER - TY - JOUR AB - Low‐cost, safe, and environmental‐friendly rechargeable aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising as next‐generation energy storage devices for wearable electronics among other applications. However, sluggish ionic transport kinetics and the unstable electrode structure during ionic insertion/extraction hampers their deployment. Herein,  we propose a new cathode material based on a layered metal chalcogenide (LMC), bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3), coated with polypyrrole (PPy). Taking advantage of the PPy coating, the Bi2Te3@PPy composite presents strong ionic absorption affinity, high oxidation resistance, and high structural stability. The ZIBs based on Bi2Te3@PPy cathodes exhibit high capacities and ultra‐long lifespans of over 5000 cycles. They also present outstanding stability even under bending. In addition,  we analyze here the reaction mechanism using in situ X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and computational tools and demonstrate that, in the aqueous system, Zn2+ is not inserted into the cathode as previously assumed. In contrast, proton charge storage dominates the process. Overall, this work not only shows the great potential of LMCs as ZIBs cathode materials and the advantages of PPy coating, but also clarifies the charge/discharge mechanism in rechargeable ZIBs based on LMCs. AU - Zeng, Guifang AU - Sun, Qing AU - Horta, Sharona AU - Wang, Shang AU - Lu, Xuan AU - Zhang, Chaoyue AU - Li, Jing AU - Li, Junshan AU - Ci, Lijie AU - Tian, Yanhong AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 14435 JF - Advanced Materials KW - Mechanical Engineering KW - Mechanics of Materials KW - General Materials Science SN - 0935-9648 TI - A layered Bi2Te3@PPy cathode for aqueous zinc ion batteries: Mechanism and application in printed flexible batteries ER - TY - JOUR AB - Lithium–sulfur batteries are regarded as an advantageous option for meeting the growing demand for high-energy-density storage, but their commercialization relies on solving the current limitations of both sulfur cathodes and lithium metal anodes. In this scenario, the implementation of lithium sulfide (Li2S) cathodes compatible with alternative anode materials such as silicon has the potential to alleviate the safety concerns associated with lithium metal. In this direction, here, we report a sulfur cathode based on Li2S nanocrystals grown on a catalytic host consisting of CoFeP nanoparticles supported on tubular carbon nitride. Nanosized Li2S is incorporated into the host by a scalable liquid infiltration–evaporation method. Theoretical calculations and experimental results demonstrate that the CoFeP–CN composite can boost the polysulfide adsorption/conversion reaction kinetics and strongly reduce the initial overpotential activation barrier by stretching the Li–S bonds of Li2S. Besides, the ultrasmall size of the Li2S particles in the Li2S–CoFeP–CN composite cathode facilitates the initial activation. Overall, the Li2S–CoFeP–CN electrodes exhibit a low activation barrier of 2.56 V, a high initial capacity of 991 mA h gLi2S–1, and outstanding cyclability with a small fading rate of 0.029% per cycle over 800 cycles. Moreover, Si/Li2S full cells are assembled using the nanostructured Li2S–CoFeP–CN cathode and a prelithiated anode based on graphite-supported silicon nanowires. These Si/Li2S cells demonstrate high initial discharge capacities above 900 mA h gLi2S–1 and good cyclability with a capacity fading rate of 0.28% per cycle over 150 cycles. AU - Mollania, Hamid AU - Zhang, Chaoqi AU - Du, Ruifeng AU - Qi, Xueqiang AU - Li, Junshan AU - Horta, Sharona AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Keller, Caroline AU - Chenevier, Pascale AU - Oloomi-Buygi, Majid AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 14719 IS - 50 JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces SN - 1944-8244 TI - Nanostructured Li₂S cathodes for silicon-sulfur batteries VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Developing cost-effective and high-performance thermoelectric (TE) materials to assemble efficient TE devices presents a multitude of challenges and opportunities. Cu3SbSe4 is a promising p-type TE material based on relatively earth abundant elements. However, the challenge lies in its poor electrical conductivity. Herein, an efficient and scalable solution-based approach is developed to synthesize high-quality Cu3SbSe4 nanocrystals doped with Pb at the Sb site. After ligand displacement and annealing treatments, the dried powders are consolidated into dense pellets, and their TE properties are investigated. Pb doping effectively increases the charge carrier concentration, resulting in a significant increase in electrical conductivity, while the Seebeck coefficients remain consistently high. The calculated band structure shows that Pb doping induces band convergence, thereby increasing the effective mass. Furthermore, the large ionic radius of Pb2+ results in the generation of additional point and plane defects and interphases, dramatically enhancing phonon scattering, which significantly decreases the lattice thermal conductivity at high temperatures. Overall, a maximum figure of merit (zTmax) ≈ 0.85 at 653 K is obtained in Cu3Sb0.97Pb0.03Se4. This represents a 1.6-fold increase compared to the undoped sample and exceeds most doped Cu3SbSe4-based materials produced by solid-state, demonstrating advantages of versatility and cost-effectiveness using a solution-based technology. AU - Wan, Shanhong AU - Xiao, Shanshan AU - Li, Mingquan AU - Wang, Xin AU - Lim, Khak Ho AU - Hong, Min AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu AU - Liu, Yu ID - 14734 JF - Small Methods TI - Band engineering through Pb-doping of nanocrystal building blocks to enhance thermoelectric performance in Cu3SbSe4 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The effects of the partial V-substitution for Ag on the thermoelectric (TE) properties are investigated for a flexible semiconducting compound Ag2S0.55Se0.45. Density functional theory calculations predict that such a partial V-substitution constructively modifies the electronic structure near the bottom of the conduction band to improve the TE performance. The synthesized Ag1.97V0.03S0.55Se0.45 is found to possess a TE dimensionless figure-of-merit (ZT) of 0.71 at 350 K with maintaining its flexible nature. This ZT value is relatively high in comparison with those reported for flexible TE materials below 360 K. The increase in the ZT value is caused by the enhanced absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient with less significant variation in electrical resistivity. The high ZT value with the flexible nature naturally allows us to employ the Ag1.97V0.03S0.55Se0.45 as a component of flexible TE generators. AU - Sato, Kosuke AU - Singh, Saurabh AU - Yamazaki, Itsuki AU - Hirata, Keisuke AU - Ang, Artoni Kevin R. AU - Matsunami, Masaharu AU - Takeuchi, Tsunehiro ID - 14777 IS - 12 JF - AIP Advances KW - General Physics and Astronomy TI - Improvement of thermoelectric performance of flexible compound Ag2S0.55Se0.45 by means of partial V-substitution for Ag VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR AB - We report on a simple surfactant/template free chemical route for the synthesis of semi-polycrystalline polyaniline-graphite (SPani-graphite) composite and its application as an electroactive material in electrochemical charge storage. The synthesized material exhibits well-defined poly-crystallographic lattices in high resolution transmission electron micrographs and sharp peaks in x-ray diffraction spectra suggesting crystalline nature of the material. The specific capacitance computed from the galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) data obtained from 3-electrode cell configuration using 1 M aq. Na2SO4 as an electrolyte was 111.4 F g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1 which rises to 269 F g−1 at an elevated current density of 1.0 A g−1. A similar pattern of increase in the specific capacitance values with an increase in the current density was observed in the results obtained from 2-electrode symmetric device configuration using polymer gel electrolyte (xanthan gum in 1 M aq. Na2SO4). The specific capacitance computed from the GCD data obtained from the device configuration was 20 F g−1 at the current density of 1.0 A g−1. The device delivers an energy density of 1.7 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 2.48 kWh kg−1 at an applied current density of 0.5 A g−1 suggesting an excellent rate capability and power management. In addition, the device exhibits ⁓92 % specific capacitance retention up to 8000 continuous GCD cycles and ⁓80 % coulombic efficiency up to 10,000 continuous GCD cycles indicating excellent cycling stability. The unique feature of increasing specific capacitance with respect to applied current density is attributed to the presence of semi-polycrystalline phases in the SPani-graphite matrix. The material behaves as a surface redox supercapacitor and its unique mechanism of charge storage is discussed in detail in the article. AU - Mahato, Neelima AU - Singh, Saurabh AU - Faisal, Mohammad AU - Sreekanth, T. V.M. AU - Majumder, Sutripto AU - Yoo, Kisoo AU - Kim, Jonghoon ID - 14379 JF - Synthetic Metals SN - 0379-6779 TI - Polycrystalline phases grown in-situ engendering unique mechanism of charge storage in polyaniline-graphite composite VL - 299 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Lead sulfide (PbS) presents large potential in thermoelectric application due to its earth-abundant S element. However, its inferior average ZT (ZTave) value makes PbS less competitive with its analogs PbTe and PbSe. To promote its thermoelectric performance, this study implements strategies of continuous Se alloying and Cu interstitial doping to synergistically tune thermal and electrical transport properties in n-type PbS. First, the lattice parameter of 5.93 Å in PbS is linearly expanded to 6.03 Å in PbS0.5Se0.5 with increasing Se alloying content. This expanded lattice in Se-alloyed PbS not only intensifies phonon scattering but also facilitates the formation of Cu interstitials. Based on the PbS0.6Se0.4 content with the minimal lattice thermal conductivity, Cu interstitials are introduced to improve the electron density, thus boosting the peak power factor, from 3.88 μW cm−1 K−2 in PbS0.6Se0.4 to 20.58 μW cm−1 K−2 in PbS0.6Se0.4−1%Cu. Meanwhile, the lattice thermal conductivity in PbS0.6Se0.4−x%Cu (x = 0–2) is further suppressed due to the strong strain field caused by Cu interstitials. Finally, with the lowered thermal conductivity and high electrical transport properties, a peak ZT ~1.1 and ZTave ~0.82 can be achieved in PbS0.6Se0.4 − 1%Cu at 300–773K, which outperforms previously reported n-type PbS. AU - Liu, Zhengtao AU - Hong, Tao AU - Xu, Liqing AU - Wang, Sining AU - Gao, Xiang AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Ding, Xiangdong AU - Xiao, Yu AU - Zhao, Li‐Dong ID - 14985 IS - 1 JF - Interdisciplinary Materials TI - Lattice expansion enables interstitial doping to achieve a high average ZT in n‐type PbS VL - 2 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Access to a blossoming library of colloidal nanomaterials provides building blocks for complex assembled materials. The journey to bring these prospects to fruition stands to benefit from the application of advanced processing methods. Epitaxially connected nanocrystal (or quantum dot) superlattices present a captivating model system for mesocrystals with intriguing emergent properties. The conventional processing approach to creating these materials involves assembling and attaching the constituent nanocrystals at the interface between two immiscible fluids. Processing small liquid volumes of the colloidal nanocrystal solution involves several complexities arising from the concurrent spreading, evaporation, assembly, and attachment. The ability of inkjet printers to deliver small (typically picoliter) liquid volumes with precise positioning is attractive to advance fundamental insights into the processing science, and thereby potentially enable new routes to incorporate the epitaxially connected superlattices into technology platforms. In this study, we identified the processing window of opportunity, including nanocrystal ink formulation and printing approach to enable delivery of colloidal nanocrystals from an inkjet nozzle onto the surface of a sessile droplet of the immiscible subphase. We demonstrate how inkjet printing can be scaled-down to enable the fabrication of epitaxially connected superlattices on patterned sub-millimeter droplets. We anticipate that insights from this work will spur on future advances to enable more mechanistic insights into the assembly processes and new avenues to create high-fidelity superlattices. AU - Balazs, Daniel AU - Erkan, N. Deniz AU - Quien, Michelle AU - Hanrath, Tobias ID - 10587 IS - 5 JF - Nano Research KW - interfacial assembly KW - colloidal nanocrystal KW - superlattice KW - inkjet printing SN - 1998-0124 TI - Inkjet printing of epitaxially connected nanocrystal superlattices VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR AB - SnSe has emerged as one of the most promising materials for thermoelectric energy conversion due to its extraordinary performance in its single-crystal form and its low-cost constituent elements. However, to achieve an economic impact, the polycrystalline counterpart needs to replicate the performance of the single crystal. Herein, we optimize the thermoelectric performance of polycrystalline SnSe produced by consolidating solution-processed and surface-engineered SnSe particles. In particular, the SnSe particles are coated with CdSe molecular complexes that crystallize during the sintering process, forming CdSe nanoparticles. The presence of CdSe nanoparticles inhibits SnSe grain growth during the consolidation step due to Zener pinning, yielding a material with a high density of grain boundaries. Moreover, the resulting SnSe–CdSe nanocomposites present a large number of defects at different length scales, which significantly reduce the thermal conductivity. The produced SnSe–CdSe nanocomposites exhibit thermoelectric figures of merit up to 2.2 at 786 K, which is among the highest reported for solution-processed SnSe. AU - Liu, Yu AU - Calcabrini, Mariano AU - Yu, Yuan AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Chang, Cheng AU - David, Jérémy AU - Ghosh, Tanmoy AU - Spadaro, Maria Chiara AU - Xie, Chenyang AU - Cojocaru-Mirédin, Oana AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 10042 IS - 1 JF - ACS Nano KW - tin selenide KW - nanocomposite KW - grain growth KW - Zener pinning KW - thermoelectricity KW - annealing KW - solution processing SN - 1936-0851 TI - Defect engineering in solution-processed polycrystalline SnSe leads to high thermoelectric performance VL - 16 ER - TY - JOUR AB - A novel multivariable system, combining a transistor with fiber optic-based surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy with the gate electrode simultaneously acting as the fiber optic sensor surface, is reported. The dual-mode sensor allows for discrimination of mass and charge contributions for binding assays on the same sensor surface. Furthermore, we optimize the sensor geometry by investigating the influence of the fiber area to transistor channel area ratio and distance. We show that larger fiber optic tip diameters are favorable for electronic and optical signals and demonstrate the reversibility of plasmon resonance wavelength shifts after electric field application. As a proof of principle, a layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes is performed to benchmark the system against multivariable sensing platforms with planar surface plasmon resonance configurations. Furthermore, the biosensing performance is assessed using a thrombin binding assay with surface-immobilized aptamers as receptors, allowing for the detection of medically relevant thrombin concentrations. AU - Hasler, Roger AU - Reiner-Rozman, Ciril AU - Fossati, Stefan AU - Aspermair, Patrik AU - Dostalek, Jakub AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Bintinger, Johannes AU - Knoll, Wolfgang ID - 10829 IS - 2 JF - ACS Sensors TI - Field-effect transistor with a plasmonic fiber optic gate electrode as a multivariable biosensor device VL - 7 ER - TY - GEN AB - Detailed information about the data set see "dataset description.txt" file. AU - Hasler, Roger AU - Reiner-Rozman, Ciril AU - Fossati, Stefan AU - Aspermair, Patrik AU - Dostalek, Jakub AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Bintinger, Johannes AU - Knoll, Wolfgang ID - 10833 TI - Field-effect transistor with a plasmonic fiber optic gate electrode as a multivariable biosensor device ER - TY - JOUR AB - SnTe is a promising Pb-free thermoelectric (TE) material with high electrical conductivity. We discovered the synergistic effect of Bi2O3 on enhancing the average power factor (PF) and overall ZT value of the SnTe-based thermoelectric material. The introduction of Bi2O3 forms plenty of SnO2, Bi2O3, and Bi-rich nanoprecipitates. These interfaces between the SnTe matrix and the nanoprecipitates can enhance the average PF through the energy filtering effect. On the other hand, abundant and diverse nanoprecipitates can significantly diminish the lattice thermal conductivity (κlat) through enhanced phonon scattering. The synergistic effect of Bi2O3 resulted in a maximum ZT (ZTmax) value of 0.9 at SnTe-2% Bi2O3 and an average ZT (ZTave) value of 0.4 for SnTe-4% Bi2O3 from 300 K to 823 K. The work provides an excellent reference to develop non-toxic high-performance TE materials. AU - Hong, Tao AU - Guo, Changrong AU - Wang, Dongyang AU - Qin, Bingchao AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Gao, Xiang AU - Zhao, Li Dong ID - 11142 JF - Materials Today Energy TI - Enhanced thermoelectric performance in SnTe due to the energy filtering effect introduced by Bi2O3 VL - 25 ER - TY - JOUR AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Qin, Bingchao AU - Su, Lizhong AU - Zhao, Li Dong ID - 11356 IS - 11 JF - Science Bulletin SN - 2095-9273 TI - Distinct electron and hole transports in SnSe crystals VL - 67 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Tin selenide (SnSe) is considered a robust candidate for thermoelectric applications due to its very high thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, with values of 2.6 in p-type and 2.8 in n-type single crystals. Sn has been replaced with various lower group dopants to achieve successful p-type doping in SnSe with high ZT values. A known, facile, and powerful alternative way to introduce a hole carrier is to use a natural single Sn vacancy, VSn. Through transport and scanning tunneling microscopy studies, we discovered that VSn are dominant in high-quality (slow cooling rate) SnSe single crystals, while multiple vacancies, Vmulti, are dominant in low-quality (high cooling rate) single crystals. Surprisingly, both VSn and Vmulti help to increase the power factors of SnSe, whereas samples with dominant VSn have superior thermoelectric properties in SnSe single crystals. Additionally, the observation that Vmulti are good p-type sources observed in relatively low-quality single crystals is useful in thermoelectric applications because polycrystalline SnSe can be used due to its mechanical strength; this substance is usually fabricated at very high cooling speeds. AU - Nguyen, Van Quang AU - Trinh, Thi Ly AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Zhao, Li Dong AU - Nguyen, Thi Huong AU - Duong, Van Thiet AU - Duong, Anh Tuan AU - Park, Jong Ho AU - Park, Sudong AU - Kim, Jungdae AU - Cho, Sunglae ID - 11401 JF - NPG Asia Materials SN - 1884-4049 TI - Unidentified major p-type source in SnSe: Multivacancies VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The precursor conversion chemistry and surface chemistry of Cu3N and Cu3PdN nanocrystals are unknown or contested. Here, we first obtain phase-pure, colloidally stable nanocubes. Second, we elucidate the pathway by which copper(II) nitrate and oleylamine form Cu3N. We find that oleylamine is both a reductant and a nitrogen source. Oleylamine is oxidized by nitrate to a primary aldimine, which reacts further with excess oleylamine to a secondary aldimine, eliminating ammonia. Ammonia reacts with CuI to form Cu3N. Third, we investigated the surface chemistry and find a mixed ligand shell of aliphatic amines and carboxylates (formed in situ). While the carboxylates appear tightly bound, the amines are easily desorbed from the surface. Finally, we show that doping with palladium decreases the band gap and the material becomes semi-metallic. These results bring insight into the chemistry of metal nitrides and might help the development of other metal nitride nanocrystals. AU - Parvizian, Mahsa AU - Duràn Balsa, Alejandra AU - Pokratath, Rohan AU - Kalha, Curran AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Van Den Eynden, Dietger AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Regoutz, Anna AU - De Roo, Jonathan ID - 11451 IS - 31 JF - Angewandte Chemie - International Edition SN - 1433-7851 TI - The chemistry of Cu₃N and Cu₃PdN nanocrystals VL - 61 ER - TY - GEN AB - Data underlying the figures in the publication "The chemistry of Cu3N and Cu3PdN nanocrystals" AU - Parvizian, Mahsa AU - Duran Balsa, Alejandra AU - Pokratath, Rohan AU - Kalha, Curran AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Van den Eynden, Dietger AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Regoutz, Anna AU - De Roo, Jonathan ID - 11695 TI - Data for "The chemistry of Cu3N and Cu3PdN nanocrystals" ER - TY - JOUR AB - The broad implementation of thermoelectricity requires high-performance and low-cost materials. One possibility is employing surfactant-free solution synthesis to produce nanopowders. We propose the strategy of functionalizing “naked” particles’ surface by inorganic molecules to control the nanostructure and, consequently, thermoelectric performance. In particular, we use bismuth thiolates to functionalize surfactant-free SnTe particles’ surfaces. Upon thermal processing, bismuth thiolates decomposition renders SnTe-Bi2S3 nanocomposites with synergistic functions: 1) carrier concentration optimization by Bi doping; 2) Seebeck coefficient enhancement and bipolar effect suppression by energy filtering; and 3) lattice thermal conductivity reduction by small grain domains, grain boundaries and nanostructuration. Overall, the SnTe-Bi2S3 nanocomposites exhibit peak z T up to 1.3 at 873 K and an average z T of ≈0.6 at 300–873 K, which is among the highest reported for solution-processed SnTe. AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Liu, Yu AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Spadaro, Maria AU - Koskela, Kristopher M. AU - Kleinhanns, Tobias AU - Costanzo, Tommaso AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Brutchey, Richard L. AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 11705 IS - 35 JF - Angewandte Chemie - International Edition SN - 1433-7851 TI - Surface functionalization of surfactant-free particles: A strategy to tailor the properties of nanocomposites for enhanced thermoelectric performance VL - 61 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Thermoelectric technology requires synthesizing complex materials where not only the crystal structure but also other structural features such as defects, grain size and orientation, and interfaces must be controlled. To date, conventional solid-state techniques are unable to provide this level of control. Herein, we present a synthetic approach in which dense inorganic thermoelectric materials are produced by the consolidation of well-defined nanoparticle powders. The idea is that controlling the characteristics of the powder allows the chemical transformations that take place during consolidation to be guided, ultimately yielding inorganic solids with targeted features. Different from conventional methods, syntheses in solution can produce particles with unprecedented control over their size, shape, crystal structure, composition, and surface chemistry. However, to date, most works have focused only on the low-cost benefits of this strategy. In this perspective, we first cover the opportunities that solution processing of the powder offers, emphasizing the potential structural features that can be controlled by precisely engineering the inorganic core of the particle, the surface, and the organization of the particles before consolidation. We then discuss the challenges of this synthetic approach and more practical matters related to solution processing. Finally, we suggest some good practices for adequate knowledge transfer and improving reproducibility among different laboratories. AU - Fiedler, Christine AU - Kleinhanns, Tobias AU - Garcia, Maria AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Calcabrini, Mariano AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 12237 IS - 19 JF - Chemistry of Materials KW - Materials Chemistry KW - General Chemical Engineering KW - General Chemistry SN - 0897-4756 TI - Solution-processed inorganic thermoelectric materials: Opportunities and challenges VL - 34 ER - TY - JOUR AB - A versatile, scalable, room temperature and surfactant-free route for the synthesis of metal chalcogenide nanoparticles in aqueous solution is detailed here for the production of PbS and Cu-doped PbS nanoparticles. Subsequently, nanoparticles are annealed in a reducing atmosphere to remove surface oxide, and consolidated into dense polycrystalline materials by means of spark plasma sintering. By characterizing the transport properties of the sintered material, we observe the annealing step and the incorporation of Cu to play a key role in promoting the thermoelectric performance of PbS. The presence of Cu allows improving the electrical conductivity by increasing the charge carrier concentration and simultaneously maintaining a large charge carrier mobility, which overall translates into record power factors at ambient temperature, 2.3 mWm-1K−2. Simultaneously, the lattice thermal conductivity decreases with the introduction of Cu, leading to a record high ZT = 0.37 at room temperature and ZT = 1.22 at 773 K. Besides, a record average ZTave = 0.76 is demonstrated in the temperature range 320–773 K for n-type Pb0.955Cu0.045S. AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Liu, Yu AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Zhang, Ting AU - Yang, Dawei AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 10566 JF - Chemical Engineering Journal SN - 1385-8947 TI - Room temperature aqueous-based synthesis of copper-doped lead sulfide nanoparticles for thermoelectric application VL - 433 ER - TY - JOUR AB - High-entropy materials offer numerous advantages as catalysts, including a flexible composition to tune the catalytic activity and selectivity and a large variety of adsorption/reaction sites for multistep or multiple reactions. Herein, we report on the synthesis, properties, and electrocatalytic performance of an amorphous high-entropy boride based on abundant transition metals, CoFeNiMnZnB. This metal boride provides excellent performance toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), including a low overpotential of 261 mV at 10 mA cm–2, a reduced Tafel slope of 56.8 mV dec–1, and very high stability. The outstanding OER performance of CoFeNiMnZnB is attributed to the synergistic interactions between the different metals, the leaching of Zn ions, the generation of oxygen vacancies, and the in situ formation of an amorphous oxyhydroxide at the CoFeNiMnZnB surface during the OER. AU - Wang, Xiang AU - Zuo, Yong AU - Horta, Sharona AU - He, Ren AU - Yang, Linlin AU - Ostovari Moghaddam, Ahmad AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Qi, Xueqiang AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 12236 IS - 42 JF - ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces KW - General Materials Science SN - 1944-8244 TI - CoFeNiMnZnB as a high-entropy metal boride to boost the oxygen evolution reaction VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Thermoelectric materials allow for direct conversion between heat and electricity, offering the potential for power generation. The average dimensionless figure of merit ZTave determines device efficiency. N-type tin selenide crystals exhibit outstanding three-dimensional charge and two-dimensional phonon transport along the out-of-plane direction, contributing to a high maximum figure of merit Zmax of ~3.6 × 10−3 per kelvin but a moderate ZTave of ~1.1. We found an attractive high Zmax of ~4.1 × 10−3 per kelvin at 748 kelvin and a ZTave of ~1.7 at 300 to 773 kelvin in chlorine-doped and lead-alloyed tin selenide crystals by phonon-electron decoupling. The chlorine-induced low deformation potential improved the carrier mobility. The lead-induced mass and strain fluctuations reduced the lattice thermal conductivity. Phonon-electron decoupling plays a critical role to achieve high-performance thermoelectrics. AU - Su, Lizhong AU - Wang, Dongyang AU - Wang, Sining AU - Qin, Bingchao AU - Wang, Yuping AU - Qin, Yongxin AU - Jin, Yang AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Zhao, Li Dong ID - 11144 IS - 6587 JF - Science TI - High thermoelectric performance realized through manipulating layered phonon-electron decoupling VL - 375 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Future LEDs could be based on lead halide perovskites. A breakthrough in preparing device-compatible solids composed of nanoscale perovskite crystals overcomes a long-standing hurdle in making blue perovskite LEDs. AU - Utzat, Hendrik AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 14437 IS - 7941 JF - Nature KW - Multidisciplinary SN - 0028-0836 TI - Molecular engineering enables bright blue LEDs VL - 612 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The growing demand of thermal management in various fields such as miniaturized 5G chips has motivated researchers to develop new and high-performance solid-state refrigeration technologies, typically including multicaloric and thermoelectric (TE) cooling. Among them, TE cooling has attracted huge attention owing to its advantages of rapid response, large cooling temperature difference, high stability, and tunable device size. Bi2Te3-based alloys have long been the only commercialized TE cooling materials, while novel systems SnSe and Mg3(Bi,Sb)2 have recently been discovered as potential candidates. However, challenges and problems still require to be summarized and further resolved for realizing better cooling performance. In this review, we systematically investigate TE cooling from its internal mechanism, crucial parameters, to device design and applications. Furthermore, we summarize the current optimization strategies for existing TE cooling materials, and finally provide some personal prospects especially the material-planification concept on future research on establishing better TE cooling. AU - Qin, Yongxin AU - Qin, Bingchao AU - Wang, Dongyang AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Zhao, Li-Dong ID - 12155 IS - 11 JF - Energy & Environmental Science KW - Pollution KW - Nuclear Energy and Engineering KW - Renewable Energy KW - Sustainability and the Environment KW - Environmental Chemistry SN - 1754-5692 TI - Solid-state cooling: Thermoelectrics VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Ligands are a fundamental part of nanocrystals. They control and direct nanocrystal syntheses and provide colloidal stability. Bound ligands also affect the nanocrystals’ chemical reactivity and electronic structure. Surface chemistry is thus crucial to understand nanocrystal properties and functionality. Here, we investigate the synthesis of metal oxide nanocrystals (CeO2-x, ZnO, and NiO) from metal nitrate precursors, in the presence of oleylamine ligands. Surprisingly, the nanocrystals are capped exclusively with a fatty acid instead of oleylamine. Analysis of the reaction mixtures with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed several reaction byproducts and intermediates that are common to the decomposition of Ce, Zn, Ni, and Zr nitrate precursors. Our evidence supports the oxidation of alkylamine and formation of a carboxylic acid, thus unraveling this counterintuitive surface chemistry. AU - Calcabrini, Mariano AU - Van den Eynden, Dietger AU - Sanchez Ribot, Sergi AU - Pokratath, Rohan AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - De Roo, Jonathan AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 10806 IS - 11 JF - JACS Au KW - general medicine SN - 2691-3704 TI - Ligand conversion in nanocrystal synthesis: The oxidation of alkylamines to fatty acids by nitrate VL - 1 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Cesium lead halides have intrinsically unstable crystal lattices and easily transform within perovskite and nonperovskite structures. In this work, we explore the conversion of the perovskite CsPbBr3 into Cs4PbBr6 in the presence of PbS at 450 °C to produce doped nanocrystal-based composites with embedded Cs4PbBr6 nanoprecipitates. We show that PbBr2 is extracted from CsPbBr3 and diffuses into the PbS lattice with a consequent increase in the concentration of free charge carriers. This new doping strategy enables the adjustment of the density of charge carriers between 1019 and 1020 cm–3, and it may serve as a general strategy for doping other nanocrystal-based semiconductors. AU - Calcabrini, Mariano AU - Genc, Aziz AU - Liu, Yu AU - Kleinhanns, Tobias AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Dirin, Dmitry N. AU - Akkerman, Quinten A. AU - Kovalenko, Maksym V. AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 9118 IS - 2 JF - ACS Energy Letters TI - Exploiting the lability of metal halide perovskites for doping semiconductor nanocomposites VL - 6 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The precise engineering of thermoelectric materials using nanocrystals as their building blocks has proven to be an excellent strategy to increase energy conversion efficiency. Here we present a synthetic route to produce Sb-doped PbS colloidal nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are then consolidated into nanocrystalline PbS:Sb using spark plasma sintering. We demonstrate that the introduction of Sb significantly influences the size, geometry, crystal lattice and especially the carrier concentration of PbS. The increase of charge carrier concentration achieved with the introduction of Sb translates into an increase of the electrical and thermal conductivities and a decrease of the Seebeck coefficient. Overall, PbS:Sb nanomaterial were characterized by two-fold higher thermoelectric figures of merit than undoped PbS. AU - Cadavid, Doris AU - Wei, Kaya AU - Liu, Yu AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Genç, Aziz AU - Berestok, Taisiia AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Shavel, Alexey AU - Nolas, George S. AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 9206 IS - 4 JF - Materials TI - Synthesis, bottom up assembly and thermoelectric properties of Sb-doped PbS nanocrystal building blocks VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR AB - SnSe, a wide-bandgap semiconductor, has attracted significant attention from the thermoelectric (TE) community due to its outstanding TE performance deriving from the ultralow thermal conductivity and advantageous electronic structures. Here, we promoted the TE performance of n-type SnSe polycrystals through bandgap engineering and vacancy compensation. We found that PbTe can significantly reduce the wide bandgap of SnSe to reduce the impurity transition energy, largely enhancing the carrier concentration. Also, PbTe-induced crystal symmetry promotion increases the carrier mobility, preserving large Seebeck coefficient. Consequently, a maximum ZT of ∼1.4 at 793 K is obtained in Br doped SnSe–13%PbTe. Furthermore, we found that extra Sn in n-type SnSe can compensate for the intrinsic Sn vacancies and form electron donor-like metallic Sn nanophases. The Sn nanophases near the grain boundary could also reduce the intergrain energy barrier which largely enhances the carrier mobility. As a result, a maximum ZT value of ∼1.7 at 793 K and an average ZT (ZTave) of ∼0.58 in 300–793 K are achieved in Br doped Sn1.08Se–13%PbTe. Our findings provide a novel strategy to promote the TE performance in wide-bandgap semiconductors. AU - Su, Lizhong AU - Hong, Tao AU - Wang, Dongyang AU - Wang, Sining AU - Qin, Bingchao AU - Zhang, Mengmeng AU - Gao, Xiang AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Zhao, Li Dong ID - 9626 JF - Materials Today Physics TI - Realizing high doping efficiency and thermoelectric performance in n-type SnSe polycrystals via bandgap engineering and vacancy compensation VL - 20 ER - TY - JOUR AB - In 2020, many in-person scientific events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a vacuum in networking and knowledge exchange between scientists. To fill this void in scientific communication, a group of early career nanocrystal enthusiasts launched the virtual seminar series, News in Nanocrystals, in the summer of 2020. By the end of the year, the series had attracted over 850 participants from 46 countries. In this Nano Focus, we describe the process of organizing the News in Nanocrystals seminar series; discuss its growth, emphasizing what the organizers have learned in terms of diversity and accessibility; and provide an outlook for the next steps and future opportunities. This summary and analysis of experiences and learned lessons are intended to inform the broader scientific community, especially those who are looking for avenues to continue fostering discussion and scientific engagement virtually, both during the pandemic and after. AU - Baranov, Dmitry AU - Šverko, Tara AU - Moot, Taylor AU - Keller, Helena R. AU - Klein, Megan D. AU - Vishnu, E. K. AU - Balazs, Daniel AU - Shulenberger, Katherine E. ID - 9829 IS - 7 JF - ACS Nano SN - 19360851 TI - News in Nanocrystals seminar: Self-assembly of early career researchers toward globally accessible nanoscience VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Solution synthesis of particles emerged as an alternative to prepare thermoelectric materials with less demanding processing conditions than conventional solid-state synthetic methods. However, solution synthesis generally involves the presence of additional molecules or ions belonging to the precursors or added to enable solubility and/or regulate nucleation and growth. These molecules or ions can end up in the particles as surface adsorbates and interfere in the material properties. This work demonstrates that ionic adsorbates, in particular Na⁺ ions, are electrostatically adsorbed in SnSe particles synthesized in water and play a crucial role not only in directing the material nano/microstructure but also in determining the transport properties of the consolidated material. In dense pellets prepared by sintering SnSe particles, Na remains within the crystal lattice as dopant, in dislocations, precipitates, and forming grain boundary complexions. These results highlight the importance of considering all the possible unintentional impurities to establish proper structure-property relationships and control material properties in solution-processed thermoelectric materials. AU - Liu, Yu AU - Calcabrini, Mariano AU - Yu, Yuan AU - Genç, Aziz AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Costanzo, Tommaso AU - Kleinhanns, Tobias AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Cojocaru‐Mirédin, Oana AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 10123 IS - 52 JF - Advanced Materials KW - mechanical engineering KW - mechanics of materials KW - general materials science SN - 0935-9648 TI - The importance of surface adsorbates in solution‐processed thermoelectric materials: The case of SnSe VL - 33 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Thermoelectric materials enable the direct conversion between heat and electricity. SnTe is a promising candidate due to its high charge transport performance. Here, we prepared SnTe nanocomposites by employing an aqueous method to synthetize SnTe nanoparticles (NP), followed by a unique surface treatment prior NP consolidation. This synthetic approach allowed optimizing the charge and phonon transport synergistically. The novelty of this strategy was the use of a soluble PbS molecular complex prepared using a thiol-amine solvent mixture that upon blending is adsorbed on the SnTe NP surface. Upon consolidation with spark plasma sintering, SnTe-PbS nanocomposite is formed. The presence of PbS complexes significantly compensates for the Sn vacancy and increases the average grain size of the nanocomposite, thus improving the carrier mobility. Moreover, lattice thermal conductivity is also reduced by the Pb and S-induced mass and strain fluctuation. As a result, an enhanced ZT of ca. 0.8 is reached at 873 K. Our finding provides a novel strategy to conduct rational surface treatment on NP-based thermoelectrics. AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 10073 IS - 18 JF - Materials TI - Enhanced thermoelectric performance by surface engineering in SnTe-PbS nanocomposites VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR AB - For many years, fullerene derivatives have been the main n-type material of organic electronics and optoelectronics. Recently, fullerene derivatives functionalized with ethylene glycol (EG) side chains have been showing important properties such as enhanced dielectric constants, facile doping and enhanced self-assembly capabilities. Here, we have prepared field-effect transistors using a series of these fullerene derivatives equipped with EG side chains of different lengths. Transport data show the beneficial effect of increasing the EG side chain. In order to understand the material properties, full structural determination of these fullerene derivatives has been achieved by coupling the X-ray data with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The increase in transport properties is paired with the formation of extended layered structures, efficient molecular packing and an increase in the crystallite alignment. The layer-like structure is composed of conducting layers, containing of closely packed C60 balls approaching the inter-distance of 1 nm, that are separated by well-defined EG layers, where the EG chains are rather splayed with the chain direction almost perpendicular to the layer normal. Such a layered structure appears highly ordered and highly aligned with the C60 planes oriented parallel to the substrate in the thin film configuration. The order inside the thin film increases with the EG chain length, allowing the systems to achieve mobilities as high as 0.053 cm2 V−1 s−1. Our work elucidates the structure of these interesting semiconducting organic molecules and shows that the synergistic use of X-ray structural analysis and MD simulations is a powerful tool to identify the structure of thin organic films for optoelectronic applications. AU - Dong, Jingjin AU - Sami, Selim AU - Balazs, Daniel AU - Alessandri, Riccardo AU - Jahani, Fatimeh AU - Qiu, Li AU - Marrink, Siewert J. AU - Havenith, Remco W.A. AU - Hummelen, Jan C. AU - Loi, Maria A. AU - Portale, Giuseppe ID - 10534 IS - 45 JF - Journal of Materials Chemistry C SN - 2050-7534 TI - Fullerene derivatives with oligoethylene-glycol side chains: An investigation on the origin of their outstanding transport properties VL - 9 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Thermoelectric materials are engines that convert heat into an electrical current. Intuitively, the efficiency of this process depends on how many electrons (charge carriers) can move and how easily they do so, how much energy those moving electrons transport, and how easily the temperature gradient is maintained. In terms of material properties, an excellent thermoelectric material requires a high electrical conductivity σ, a high Seebeck coefficient S (a measure of the induced thermoelectric voltage as a function of temperature gradient), and a low thermal conductivity κ. The challenge is that these three properties are strongly interrelated in a conflicting manner (1). On page 722 of this issue, Roychowdhury et al. (2) have found a way to partially break these ties in silver antimony telluride (AgSbTe2) with the addition of cadmium (Cd) cations, which increase the ordering in this inherently disordered thermoelectric material. AU - Liu, Yu AU - Ibáñez, Maria ID - 10809 IS - 6530 JF - Science KW - multidisciplinary SN - 0036-8075 TI - Tidying up the mess VL - 371 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The cost-effective conversion of low-grade heat into electricity using thermoelectric devices requires developing alternative materials and material processing technologies able to reduce the currently high device manufacturing costs. In this direction, thermoelectric materials that do not rely on rare or toxic elements such as tellurium or lead need to be produced using high-throughput technologies not involving high temperatures and long processes. Bi2Se3 is an obvious possible Te-free alternative to Bi2Te3 for ambient temperature thermoelectric applications, but its performance is still low for practical applications, and additional efforts toward finding proper dopants are required. Here, we report a scalable method to produce Bi2Se3 nanosheets at low synthesis temperatures. We studied the influence of different dopants on the thermoelectric properties of this material. Among the elements tested, we demonstrated that Sn doping resulted in the best performance. Sn incorporation resulted in a significant improvement to the Bi2Se3 Seebeck coefficient and a reduction in the thermal conductivity in the direction of the hot-press axis, resulting in an overall 60% improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit of Bi2Se3. AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Zhang, Ting AU - Zuo, Yong AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Liu, Yu AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 10858 IS - 7 JF - Nanomaterials KW - General Materials Science KW - General Chemical Engineering SN - 2079-4991 TI - Enhanced thermoelectric performance of n-type Bi2Se3 nanosheets through Sn doping VL - 11 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The high processing cost, poor mechanical properties and moderate performance of Bi2Te3–based alloys used in thermoelectric devices limit the cost-effectiveness of this energy conversion technology. Towards solving these current challenges, in the present work, we detail a low temperature solution-based approach to produce Bi2Te3-Cu2-xTe nanocomposites with improved thermoelectric performance. Our approach consists in combining proper ratios of colloidal nanoparticles and to consolidate the resulting mixture into nanocomposites using a hot press. The transport properties of the nanocomposites are characterized and compared with those of pure Bi2Te3 nanomaterials obtained following the same procedure. In contrast with most previous works, the presence of Cu2-xTe nanodomains does not result in a significant reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity of the reference Bi2Te3 nanomaterial, which is already very low. However, the introduction of Cu2-xTe yields a nearly threefold increase of the power factor associated to a simultaneous increase of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity at temperatures above 400 K. Taking into account the band alignment of the two materials, we rationalize this increase by considering that Cu2-xTe nanostructures, with a relatively low electron affinity, are able to inject electrons into Bi2Te3, enhancing in this way its electrical conductivity. The simultaneous increase of the Seebeck coefficient is related to the energy filtering of charge carriers at energy barriers within Bi2Te3 domains associated with the accumulation of electrons in regions nearby a Cu2-xTe/Bi2Te3 heterojunction. Overall, with the incorporation of a proper amount of Cu2-xTe nanoparticles, we demonstrate a 250% improvement of the thermoelectric figure of merit of Bi2Te3. AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Xing, Congcong AU - Liu, Yu AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Guardia, Pablo AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Han, Xu AU - Moghaddam, Ahmad AU - Roa, Joan J AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Pan, Kai AU - Prato, Mirko AU - Xie, Ying AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 9304 IS - 8 JF - Chemical Engineering Journal SN - 1385-8947 TI - Influence of copper telluride nanodomains on the transport properties of n-type bismuth telluride VL - 418 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Copper chalcogenides are outstanding thermoelectric materials for applications in the medium-high temperature range. Among different chalcogenides, while Cu2−xSe is characterized by higher thermoelectric figures of merit, Cu2−xS provides advantages in terms of low cost and element abundance. In the present work, we investigate the effect of different dopants to enhance the Cu2−xS performance and also its thermal stability. Among the tested options, Pb-doped Cu2−xS shows the highest improvement in stability against sulfur volatilization. Additionally, Pb incorporation allows tuning charge carrier concentration, which enables a significant improvement of the power factor. We demonstrate here that the introduction of an optimal additive amount of just 0.3% results in a threefold increase of the power factor in the middle-temperature range (500–800 K) and a record dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit above 2 at 880 K. AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Xing, Congcong AU - Liu, Yu AU - Spadaro, Maria Chiara AU - Wang, Xiang AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Zhang, Ting AU - Guardia, Pablo AU - Lim, Khak Ho AU - Moghaddam, Ahmad Ostovari AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 9305 IS - 7 JF - Nano Energy SN - 2211-2855 TI - Doping-mediated stabilization of copper vacancies to promote thermoelectric properties of Cu2-xS VL - 85 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Composite materials offer numerous advantages in a wide range of applications, including thermoelectrics. Here, semiconductor–metal composites are produced by just blending nanoparticles of a sulfide semiconductor obtained in aqueous solution and at room temperature with a metallic Cu powder. The obtained blend is annealed in a reducing atmosphere and afterward consolidated into dense polycrystalline pellets through spark plasma sintering (SPS). We observe that, during the annealing process, the presence of metallic copper activates a partial reduction of the PbS, resulting in the formation of PbS–Pb–CuxS composites. The presence of metallic lead during the SPS process habilitates the liquid-phase sintering of the composite. Besides, by comparing the transport properties of PbS, the PbS–Pb–CuxS composites, and PbS–CuxS composites obtained by blending PbS and CuxS nanoparticles, we demonstrate that the presence of metallic lead decisively contributes to a strong increase of the charge carrier concentration through spillover of charge carriers enabled by the low work function of lead. The increase in charge carrier concentration translates into much higher electrical conductivities and moderately lower Seebeck coefficients. These properties translate into power factors up to 2.1 mW m–1 K–2 at ambient temperature, well above those of PbS and PbS + CuxS. Additionally, the presence of multiple phases in the final composite results in a notable decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity. Overall, the introduction of metallic copper in the initial blend results in a significant improvement of the thermoelectric performance of PbS, reaching a dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT = 1.1 at 750 K, which represents about a 400% increase over bare PbS. Besides, an average ZTave = 0.72 in the temperature range 320–773 K is demonstrated. AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Liu, Yu AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Han, Xu AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Nabahat, Mehran AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 10327 IS - 43 JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces KW - CuxS KW - PbS KW - energy conversion KW - nanocomposite KW - nanoparticle KW - solution synthesis KW - thermoelectric SN - 1944-8244 TI - PbS–Pb–CuxS composites for thermoelectric application VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Cu2–xS has become one of the most promising thermoelectric materials for application in the middle-high temperature range. Its advantages include the abundance, low cost, and safety of its elements and a high performance at relatively elevated temperatures. However, stability issues limit its operation current and temperature, thus calling for the optimization of the material performance in the middle temperature range. Here, we present a synthetic protocol for large scale production of covellite CuS nanoparticles at ambient temperature and atmosphere, and using water as a solvent. The crystal phase and stoichiometry of the particles are afterward tuned through an annealing process at a moderate temperature under inert or reducing atmosphere. While annealing under argon results in Cu1.8S nanopowder with a rhombohedral crystal phase, annealing in an atmosphere containing hydrogen leads to tetragonal Cu1.96S. High temperature X-ray diffraction analysis shows the material annealed in argon to transform to the cubic phase at ca. 400 K, while the material annealed in the presence of hydrogen undergoes two phase transitions, first to hexagonal and then to the cubic structure. The annealing atmosphere, temperature, and time allow adjustment of the density of copper vacancies and thus tuning of the charge carrier concentration and material transport properties. In this direction, the material annealed under Ar is characterized by higher electrical conductivities but lower Seebeck coefficients than the material annealed in the presence of hydrogen. By optimizing the charge carrier concentration through the annealing time, Cu2–xS with record figures of merit in the middle temperature range, up to 1.41 at 710 K, is obtained. We finally demonstrate that this strategy, based on a low-cost and scalable solution synthesis process, is also suitable for the production of high performance Cu2–xS layers using high throughput and cost-effective printing technologies. AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Liu, Yu AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Han, Xu AU - Zhang, Ting AU - Zuo, Yong AU - Xie, Chenyang AU - Xiao, Ke AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Liu, Junfeng AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 9235 IS - 3 JF - ACS Nano KW - General Engineering KW - General Physics and Astronomy KW - General Materials Science SN - 1936-0851 TI - Effect of the annealing atmosphere on crystal phase and thermoelectric properties of copper sulfide VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Research on two-dimensional (2D) materials has been explosively increasing in last seventeen years in varying subjects including condensed matter physics, electronic engineering, materials science, and chemistry since the mechanical exfoliation of graphene in 2004. Starting from graphene, 2D materials now have become a big family with numerous members and diverse categories. The unique structural features and physicochemical properties of 2D materials make them one class of the most appealing candidates for a wide range of potential applications. In particular, we have seen some major breakthroughs made in the field of 2D materials in last five years not only in developing novel synthetic methods and exploring new structures/properties but also in identifying innovative applications and pushing forward commercialisation. In this review, we provide a critical summary on the recent progress made in the field of 2D materials with a particular focus on last five years. After a brief background introduction, we first discuss the major synthetic methods for 2D materials, including the mechanical exfoliation, liquid exfoliation, vapor phase deposition, and wet-chemical synthesis as well as phase engineering of 2D materials belonging to the field of phase engineering of nanomaterials (PEN). We then introduce the superconducting/optical/magnetic properties and chirality of 2D materials along with newly emerging magic angle 2D superlattices. Following that, the promising applications of 2D materials in electronics, optoelectronics, catalysis, energy storage, solar cells, biomedicine, sensors, environments, etc. are described sequentially. Thereafter, we present the theoretic calculations and simulations of 2D materials. Finally, after concluding the current progress, we provide some personal discussions on the existing challenges and future outlooks in this rapidly developing field. AU - Chang, Cheng AU - Chen, Wei AU - Chen, Ye AU - Chen, Yonghua AU - Chen, Yu AU - Ding, Feng AU - Fan, Chunhai AU - Fan, Hong Jin AU - Fan, Zhanxi AU - Gong, Cheng AU - Gong, Yongji AU - He, Qiyuan AU - Hong, Xun AU - Hu, Sheng AU - Hu, Weida AU - Huang, Wei AU - Huang, Yuan AU - Ji, Wei AU - Li, Dehui AU - Li, Lain Jong AU - Li, Qiang AU - Lin, Li AU - Ling, Chongyi AU - Liu, Minghua AU - Liu, Nan AU - Liu, Zhuang AU - Loh, Kian Ping AU - Ma, Jianmin AU - Miao, Feng AU - Peng, Hailin AU - Shao, Mingfei AU - Song, Li AU - Su, Shao AU - Sun, Shuo AU - Tan, Chaoliang AU - Tang, Zhiyong AU - Wang, Dingsheng AU - Wang, Huan AU - Wang, Jinlan AU - Wang, Xin AU - Wang, Xinran AU - Wee, Andrew T.S. AU - Wei, Zhongming AU - Wu, Yuen AU - Wu, Zhong Shuai AU - Xiong, Jie AU - Xiong, Qihua AU - Xu, Weigao AU - Yin, Peng AU - Zeng, Haibo AU - Zeng, Zhiyuan AU - Zhai, Tianyou AU - Zhang, Han AU - Zhang, Hui AU - Zhang, Qichun AU - Zhang, Tierui AU - Zhang, Xiang AU - Zhao, Li Dong AU - Zhao, Meiting AU - Zhao, Weijie AU - Zhao, Yunxuan AU - Zhou, Kai Ge AU - Zhou, Xing AU - Zhou, Yu AU - Zhu, Hongwei AU - Zhang, Hua AU - Liu, Zhongfan ID - 14800 IS - 12 JF - Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica SN - 1001-4861 TI - Recent progress on two-dimensional materials VL - 37 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Nanomaterials produced from the bottom-up assembly of nanocrystals may incorporate ∼1020–1021 cm–3 not fully coordinated surface atoms, i.e., ∼1020–1021 cm–3 potential donor or acceptor states that can strongly affect transport properties. Therefore, to exploit the full potential of nanocrystal building blocks to produce functional nanomaterials and thin films, a proper control of their surface chemistry is required. Here, we analyze how the ligand stripping procedure influences the charge and heat transport properties of sintered PbSe nanomaterials produced from the bottom-up assembly of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals. First, we show that the removal of the native organic ligands by thermal decomposition in an inert atmosphere leaves relatively large amounts of carbon at the crystal interfaces. This carbon blocks crystal growth during consolidation and at the same time hampers charge and heat transport through the final nanomaterial. Second, we demonstrate that, by stripping ligands from the nanocrystal surface before consolidation, nanomaterials with larger crystal domains, lower porosity, and higher charge carrier concentrations are obtained, thus resulting in nanomaterials with higher electrical and thermal conductivities. In addition, the ligand displacement leaves the nanocrystal surface unprotected, facilitating oxidation and chalcogen evaporation. The influence of the ligand displacement on the nanomaterial charge transport properties is rationalized here using a two-band model based on the standard Boltzmann transport equation with the relaxation time approximation. Finally, we present an application of the produced functional nanomaterials by modeling, fabricating, and testing a simple PbSe-based thermoelectric device with a ring geometry. AU - Cadavid, Doris AU - Ortega, Silvia AU - Illera, Sergio AU - Liu, Yu AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Shavel, Alexey AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Li, Mengyao AU - López, Antonio M. AU - Noriega, Germán AU - Durá, Oscar Juan AU - López De La Torre, M. A. AU - Prades, Joan Daniel AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 7467 IS - 3 JF - ACS Applied Energy Materials TI - Influence of the ligand stripping on the transport properties of nanoparticle-based PbSe nanomaterials VL - 3 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Assemblies of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) in the form of thin solid films leverage the size-dependent quantum confinement properties and the wet chemical methods vital for the development of the emerging solution-processable electronics, photonics, and optoelectronics technologies. The ability to control the charge carrier transport in the colloidal NC assemblies is fundamental for altering their electronic and optical properties for the desired applications. Here we demonstrate a strategy to render the solids of narrow-bandgap NC assemblies exclusively electron-transporting by creating a type-II heterojunction via shelling. Electronic transport of molecularly cross-linked PbTe@PbS core@shell NC assemblies is measured using both a conventional solid gate transistor and an electric-double-layer transistor, as well as compared with those of core-only PbTe NCs. In contrast to the ambipolar characteristics demonstrated by many narrow-bandgap NCs, the core@shell NCs exhibit exclusive n-type transport, i.e., drastically suppressed contribution of holes to the overall transport. The PbS shell that forms a type-II heterojunction assists the selective carrier transport by heavy doping of electrons into the PbTe-core conduction level and simultaneously strongly localizes the holes within the NC core valence level. This strongly enhanced n-type transport makes these core@shell NCs suitable for applications where ambipolar characteristics should be actively suppressed, in particular, for thermoelectric and electron-transporting layers in photovoltaic devices. AU - Miranti, Retno AU - Shin, Daiki AU - Septianto, Ricky Dwi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Kovalenko, Maksym V. AU - Matsushita, Nobuhiro AU - Iwasa, Yoshihiro AU - Bisri, Satria Zulkarnaen ID - 7634 IS - 3 JF - ACS Nano TI - Exclusive electron transport in Core@Shell PbTe@PbS colloidal semiconductor nanocrystal assemblies VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR AB - In the present work, we report a solution-based strategy to produce crystallographically textured SnSe bulk nanomaterials and printed layers with optimized thermoelectric performance in the direction normal to the substrate. Our strategy is based on the formulation of a molecular precursor that can be continuously decomposed to produce a SnSe powder or printed into predefined patterns. The precursor formulation and decomposition conditions are optimized to produce pure phase 2D SnSe nanoplates. The printed layer and the bulk material obtained after hot press displays a clear preferential orientation of the crystallographic domains, resulting in an ultralow thermal conductivity of 0.55 W m–1 K–1 in the direction normal to the substrate. Such textured nanomaterials present highly anisotropic properties with the best thermoelectric performance in plane, i.e., in the directions parallel to the substrate, which coincide with the crystallographic bc plane of SnSe. This is an unfortunate characteristic because thermoelectric devices are designed to create/harvest temperature gradients in the direction normal to the substrate. We further demonstrate that this limitation can be overcome with the introduction of small amounts of tellurium in the precursor. The presence of tellurium allows one to reduce the band gap and increase both the charge carrier concentration and the mobility, especially the cross plane, with a minimal decrease of the Seebeck coefficient. These effects translate into record out of plane ZT values at 800 K. AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Liu, Yu AU - Xing, Congcong AU - Zhang, Ting AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Pacios, Mercè AU - Yu, Xiaoting AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Cadavid, Doris AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 8039 IS - 24 JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces TI - Tin selenide molecular precursor for the solution processing of thermoelectric materials and devices VL - 12 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) show a huge potential to power future electric vehicles and portable electronics, but their deployment is currently limited by the unavailability of proper electrocatalysis for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In this work, we engineer a new electrocatalyst by incorporating phosphorous into a palladium-tin alloy and demonstrate a significant performance improvement toward EOR. We first detail a synthetic method to produce Pd2Sn:P nanocrystals that incorporate 35% of phosphorus. These nanoparticles are supported on carbon black and tested for EOR. Pd2Sn:P/C catalysts exhibit mass current densities up to 5.03 A mgPd−1, well above those of Pd2Sn/C, PdP2/C and Pd/C reference catalysts. Furthermore, a twofold lower Tafel slope and a much longer durability are revealed for the Pd2Sn:P/C catalyst compared with Pd/C. The performance improvement is rationalized with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations considering different phosphorous chemical environments. Depending on its oxidation state, surface phosphorus introduces sites with low energy OH− adsorption and/or strongly influences the electronic structure of palladium and tin to facilitate the oxidation of the acetyl to acetic acid, which is considered the EOR rate limiting step. DFT calculations also points out that the durability improvement of Pd2Sn:P/C catalyst is associated to the promotion of OH adsorption that accelerates the oxidation of intermediate poisoning COads, reactivating the catalyst surface. AU - Yu, Xiaoting AU - Liu, Junfeng AU - Li, Junshan AU - Luo, Zhishan AU - Zuo, Yong AU - Xing, Congcong AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Nasiou, Déspina AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Pan, Kai AU - Kleinhanns, Tobias AU - Xie, Ying AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 8189 IS - 11 JF - Nano Energy SN - 2211-2855 TI - Phosphorous incorporation in Pd2Sn alloys for electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation VL - 77 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Appropriately designed nanocomposites allow improving the thermoelectric performance by several mechanisms, including phonon scattering, modulation doping and energy filtering, while additionally promoting better mechanical properties than those of crystalline materials. Here, a strategy for producing Bi2Te3–Cu2xTe nanocomposites based on the consolidation of heterostructured nanoparticles is described and the thermoelectric properties of the obtained materials are investigated. We first detail a two-step solution-based process to produce Bi2Te3–Cu2xTe heteronanostructures, based on the growth of Cu2xTe nanocrystals on the surface of Bi2Te3 nanowires. We characterize the structural and chemical properties of the synthesized nanostructures and of the nanocomposites produced by hot-pressing the particles at moderate temperatures. Besides, the transport properties of the nanocomposites are investigated as a function of the amount of Cu introduced. Overall, the presence of Cu decreases the material thermal conductivity through promotion of phonon scattering, modulates the charge carrier concentration through electron spillover, and increases the Seebeck coefficient through filtering of charge carriers at energy barriers. These effects result in an improvement of over 50% of the thermoelectric figure of merit of Bi2Te3. AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Liu, Yu AU - Calcabrini, Mariano AU - Xing, Congcong AU - Han, Xu AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Cadavid, Doris AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 8747 IS - 40 JF - Journal of Materials Chemistry C TI - Bismuth telluride-copper telluride nanocomposites from heterostructured building blocks VL - 8 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Bimetallic nanoparticles with tailored size and specific composition have shown promise as stable and selective catalysts for electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2R) in batch systems. Yet, limited effort was devoted to understand the effect of ligand coverage and postsynthesis treatments on CO2 reduction, especially under industrially applicable conditions, such as at high currents (>100 mA/cm2) using gas diffusion electrodes (GDE) and flow reactors. In this work, Cu–Ag core–shell nanoparticles (11 ± 2 nm) were prepared with three different surface modes: (i) capped with oleylamine, (ii) capped with monoisopropylamine, and (iii) surfactant-free with a reducing borohydride agent; Cu–Ag (OAm), Cu–Ag (MIPA), and Cu–Ag (NaBH4), respectively. The ligand exchange and removal was evidenced by infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis, whereas high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) showed their effect on the interparticle distance and nanoparticle rearrangement. Later on, we developed a process-on-substrate method to track these effects on CO2R. Cu–Ag (OAm) gave a lower on-set potential for hydrocarbon production, whereas Cu–Ag (MIPA) and Cu–Ag (NaBH4) promoted syngas production. The electrochemical impedance and surface area analysis on the well-controlled electrodes showed gradual increases in the electrical conductivity and active surface area after each surface treatment. We found that the increasing amount of the triple phase boundaries (the meeting point for the electron–electrolyte–CO2 reactant) affect the required electrode potential and eventually the C+2e̅/C2e̅ product ratio. This study highlights the importance of the electron transfer to those active sites affected by the capping agents—particularly on larger substrates that are crucial for their industrial application. AU - Irtem, Erdem AU - Arenas Esteban, Daniel AU - Duarte, Miguel AU - Choukroun, Daniel AU - Lee, Seungho AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Bals, Sara AU - Breugelmans, Tom ID - 8926 IS - 22 JF - ACS Catalysis TI - Ligand-mode directed selectivity in Cu-Ag core-shell based gas diffusion electrodes for CO2 electroreduction VL - 10 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Research in the field of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) has progressed tremendously, mostly because of their exceptional optoelectronic properties. Core@shell NCs, in which one or more inorganic layers overcoat individual NCs, recently received significant attention due to their remarkable optical characteristics. Reduced Auger recombination, suppressed blinking, and enhanced carrier multiplication are among the merits of core@shell NCs. Despite their importance in device development, the influence of the shell and the surface modification of the core@shell NC assemblies on the charge carrier transport remains a pertinent research objective. Type-II PbTe@PbS core@shell NCs, in which exclusive electron transport was demonstrated, still exhibit instability of their electron ransport. Here, we demonstrate the enhancement of electron transport and stability in PbTe@PbS core@shell NC assemblies using iodide as a surface passivating ligand. The combination of the PbS shelling and the use of the iodide ligand contributes to the addition of one mobile electron for each core@shell NC. Furthermore, both electron mobility and on/off current modulation ratio values of the core@shell NC field-effect transistor are steady with the usage of iodide. Excellent stability in these exclusively electron-transporting core@shell NCs paves the way for their utilization in electronic devices. AU - Miranti, Retno AU - Septianto, Ricky Dwi AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Kovalenko, Maksym V. AU - Matsushita, Nobuhiro AU - Iwasa, Yoshihiro AU - Bisri, Satria Zulkarnaen ID - 8746 IS - 17 JF - Applied Physics Letters SN - 0003-6951 TI - Electron transport in iodide-capped core@shell PbTe@PbS colloidal nanocrystal solids VL - 117 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Methodologies that involve the use of nanoparticles as “artificial atoms” to rationally build materials in a bottom-up fashion are particularly well-suited to control the matter at the nanoscale. Colloidal synthetic routes allow for an exquisite control over such “artificial atoms” in terms of size, shape, and crystal phase as well as core and surface compositions. We present here a bottom-up approach to produce Pb–Ag–K–S–Te nanocomposites, which is a highly promising system for thermoelectric energy conversion. First, we developed a high-yield and scalable colloidal synthesis route to uniform lead sulfide (PbS) nanorods, whose tips are made of silver sulfide (Ag2S). We then took advantage of the large surface-to-volume ratio to introduce a p-type dopant (K) by replacing native organic ligands with K2Te. Upon thermal consolidation, K2Te-surface modified PbS–Ag2S nanorods yield p-type doped nanocomposites with PbTe and PbS as major phases and Ag2S and Ag2Te as embedded nanoinclusions. Thermoelectric characterization of such consolidated nanosolids showed a high thermoelectric figure-of-merit of 1 at 620 K. AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Genç, Aziz AU - Hasler, Roger AU - Liu, Yu AU - Dobrozhan, Oleksandr AU - Nazarenko, Olga AU - Mata, María de la AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Cabot, Andreu AU - Kovalenko, Maksym V. ID - 6566 IS - 6 JF - ACS Nano KW - colloidal nanoparticles KW - asymmetric nanoparticles KW - inorganic ligands KW - heterostructures KW - catalyst assisted growth KW - nanocomposites KW - thermoelectrics SN - 1936-0851 TI - Tuning transport properties in thermoelectric nanocomposites through inorganic ligands and heterostructured building blocks VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Indigoidine is a blue natural pigment, which can be efficiently synthetized in E. coli. In addition to its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities indigoidine due to its stability and deep blue color can find an application as an industrial, environmentally friendly dye. Moreover, similarly to its counterpart regular indigo dye, due to its molecular structure, indigoidine is an organic semiconductor. Fully conjugated aromatic moiety and intermolecular hydrogen bonding of indigoidine result in an unusually narrow bandgap for such a small molecule. This, in its turn, result is tight molecular packing in the solid state and opens a path for a wide range of application in organic and bio-electronics, such as electrochemical and field effect transistors, organic solar cells, light and bio-sensors etc. AU - Yumusak, Cigdem AU - Prochazkova, Anna Jancik AU - Apaydin, Dogukan H AU - Seelajaroen, Hathaichanok AU - Sariciftci, Niyazi Serdar AU - Weiter, Martin AU - Krajcovic, Jozef AU - Qin, Yong AU - Zhang, Wei AU - Zhan, Jixun AU - Kovalenko, Alexander ID - 6818 JF - Dyes and Pigments SN - 0143-7208 TI - Indigoidine - Biosynthesized organic semiconductor VL - 171 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The bottom-up assembly of colloidal nanocrystals is a versatile methodology to produce composite nanomaterials with precisely tuned electronic properties. Beyond the synthetic control over crystal domain size, shape, crystal phase, and composition, solution-processed nanocrystals allow exquisite surface engineering. This provides additional means to modulate the nanomaterial characteristics and particularly its electronic transport properties. For instance, inorganic surface ligands can be used to tune the type and concentration of majority carriers or to modify the electronic band structure. Herein, we report the thermoelectric properties of SnTe nanocomposites obtained from the consolidation of surface-engineered SnTe nanocrystals into macroscopic pellets. A CdSe-based ligand is selected to (i) converge the light and heavy bands through partial Cd alloying and (ii) generate CdSe nanoinclusions as a secondary phase within the SnTe matrix, thereby reducing the thermal conductivity. These SnTe-CdSe nanocomposites possess thermoelectric figures of merit of up to 1.3 at 850 K, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest thermoelectric figure of merit reported for solution-processed SnTe. AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Hasler, Roger AU - Genç, Aziz AU - Liu, Yu AU - Kuster, Beatrice AU - Schuster, Maximilian AU - Dobrozhan, Oleksandr AU - Cadavid, Doris AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Cabot, Andreu AU - Kovalenko, Maksym V. ID - 6586 IS - 20 JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society SN - 0002-7863 TI - Ligand-mediated band engineering in bottom-up assembled SnTe nanocomposites for thermoelectric energy conversion VL - 141 ER - TY - JOUR AB - In the present work, we detail a fast and simple solution-based method to synthesize hexagonal SnSe2 nanoplates (NPLs) and their use to produce crystallographically textured SnSe2 nanomaterials. We also demonstrate that the same strategy can be used to produce orthorhombic SnSe nanostructures and nanomaterials. NPLs are grown through a screw dislocation-driven mechanism. This mechanism typically results in pyramidal structures, but we demonstrate here that the growth from multiple dislocations results in flower-like structures. Crystallographically textured SnSe2 bulk nanomaterials obtained from the hot pressing of these SnSe2 structures display highly anisotropic charge and heat transport properties and thermoelectric (TE) figures of merit limited by relatively low electrical conductivities. To improve this parameter, SnSe2 NPLs are blended here with metal nanoparticles. The electrical conductivities of the blends are significantly improved with respect to bare SnSe2 NPLs, what translates into a three-fold increase of the TE Figure of merit, reaching unprecedented ZT values up to 0.65. AU - Zhang, Yu AU - Liu, Yu AU - Lim, Khak Ho AU - Xing, Congcong AU - Li, Mengyao AU - Zhang, Ting AU - Tang, Pengyi AU - Arbiol, Jordi AU - Llorca, Jordi AU - Ng, Ka Ming AU - Ibáñez, Maria AU - Guardia, Pablo AU - Prato, Mirko AU - Cadavid, Doris AU - Cabot, Andreu ID - 5982 IS - 52 JF - Angewandte Chemie International Edition SN - 1433-7851 TI - Tin diselenide molecular precursor for solution-processable thermoelectric materials VL - 57 ER -