article published yes Cheng Chang author 9E331C2E-9F27-11E9-AE48-5033E66974250000-0002-9515-4277 Maria Ibáñez author 43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-5013-2843 MaIb department Bottom-up Engineering for Thermoelectric Applications project 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. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/10073/10140/2021_Materials_Chang.pdf application/pdfno MDPI2021 eng 1996-1944 34576640 00070068940000110.3390/ma14185416 1418 Chang C, Ibáñez M. 2021. Enhanced thermoelectric performance by surface engineering in SnTe-PbS nanocomposites. Materials. 14(18), 5416. Chang, Cheng, and Maria Ibáñez. “Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance by Surface Engineering in SnTe-PbS Nanocomposites.” <i>Materials</i>. MDPI, 2021. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185416">https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185416</a>. C. Chang and M. Ibáñez, “Enhanced thermoelectric performance by surface engineering in SnTe-PbS nanocomposites,” <i>Materials</i>, vol. 14, no. 18. MDPI, 2021. Chang C, Ibáñez M. Enhanced thermoelectric performance by surface engineering in SnTe-PbS nanocomposites. <i>Materials</i>. 2021;14(18). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185416">10.3390/ma14185416</a> Chang, Cheng, and Maria Ibáñez. “Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance by Surface Engineering in SnTe-PbS Nanocomposites.” <i>Materials</i>, vol. 14, no. 18, 5416, MDPI, 2021, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185416">10.3390/ma14185416</a>. Chang, C., &#38; Ibáñez, M. (2021). Enhanced thermoelectric performance by surface engineering in SnTe-PbS nanocomposites. <i>Materials</i>. MDPI. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185416">https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185416</a> C. Chang, M. Ibáñez, Materials 14 (2021). 100732021-10-03T22:01:23Z2025-04-14T09:29:32Z