Bottom-up synthesis of SnTe-based thermoelectric composites

article Bottom-up synthesis of SnTe-based thermoelectric composites published yes Bingfei Nan author Xuan Song author Cheng Chang author 9E331C2E-9F27-11E9-AE48-5033E66974250000-0002-9515-4277 Ke Xiao author Yu Zhang author Linlin Yang author Sharona Horta author 03a7e858-01b1-11ec-8b71-99ae6c4a05bc Junshan Li author Khak Ho Lim author Maria Ibáñez author 43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-5013-2843 Andreu Cabot author MaIb department Bottom-up Engineering for Thermoelectric Applications project 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. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/13092/13099/2023_ACSAppliedMaterials_Nan.pdf application/pdfno American Chemical Society2023 eng ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 1944-8244 1944-8252 37141543 00098549790000110.1021/acsami.3c00625 151923380–23389 Nan B, Song X, Chang C, et al. Bottom-up synthesis of SnTe-based thermoelectric composites. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 2023;15(19):23380–23389. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00625">10.1021/acsami.3c00625</a> B. Nan, X. Song, C. Chang, K. Xiao, Y. Zhang, L. Yang, S. Horta, J. Li, K.H. Lim, M. Ibáñez, A. Cabot, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 15 (2023) 23380–23389. Nan, Bingfei, Xuan Song, Cheng Chang, Ke Xiao, Yu Zhang, Linlin Yang, Sharona Horta, et al. “Bottom-up Synthesis of SnTe-Based Thermoelectric Composites.” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. American Chemical Society, 2023. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00625">https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00625</a>. Nan, Bingfei, et al. “Bottom-up Synthesis of SnTe-Based Thermoelectric Composites.” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, vol. 15, no. 19, American Chemical Society, 2023, pp. 23380–23389, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00625">10.1021/acsami.3c00625</a>. Nan B, Song X, Chang C, Xiao K, Zhang Y, Yang L, Horta S, Li J, Lim KH, Ibáñez M, Cabot A. 2023. Bottom-up synthesis of SnTe-based thermoelectric composites. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 15(19), 23380–23389. B. Nan et al., “Bottom-up synthesis of SnTe-based thermoelectric composites,” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, vol. 15, no. 19. American Chemical Society, pp. 23380–23389, 2023. Nan, B., Song, X., Chang, C., Xiao, K., Zhang, Y., Yang, L., … Cabot, A. (2023). Bottom-up synthesis of SnTe-based thermoelectric composites. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. American Chemical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00625">https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00625</a> 130922023-05-28T22:01:03Z2025-04-14T09:29:33Z