{"quality_controlled":"1","oa_version":"None","abstract":[{"text":"SnTe has attracted significant research interest as a lead-free alternative to PbTe; however, its intrinsically high hole concentration results in an undesirably low Seebeck coefficient and elevated electronic thermal conductivity, thus significantly limiting its thermoelectric (TE) performance. Herein, we present a cost-effective, binary thiol-amine-mediated colloidal synthesis method to synthesize Bi-doped SnTe nanoparticles, eliminating the use of tri-n-octylphosphine-based precursors. The introduction of an electron-rich Bi dopant reduces the hole concentration and increases the Seebeck coefficient. Furthermore, post-synthetic surface treatment with chalcogenidocadmate complexes promotes atomic interdiffusion during annealing and consolidation, leading to compositional redistribution and modulation of the electronic band structure. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that co-modification via Bi doping and CdSe-derived chalcogen incorporation reduces the energy offset at the valence band maxima from 0.30 eV to 0.10 eV, thereby enhancing valence band degeneracy. The synergistic structural and electronic band structure modulations produce an SnTe-based material with a record high power factor of 2.1 mW m–1 K–2 at 900 K, a maximum TE figure of merit (zT) of 1.2, and a promising theoretical conversion efficiency of 8.3%. This study reports a versatile and scalable colloidal synthesis strategy that integrates hierarchical structural modulation with electronic band engineering, offering a synergistic route to significantly enhance the TE performance.","lang":"eng"}],"author":[{"first_name":"Weite","last_name":"Meng","full_name":"Meng, Weite"},{"first_name":"Lixiang","last_name":"Xu","full_name":"Xu, Lixiang"},{"first_name":"Shaoqing","last_name":"Lu","full_name":"Lu, Shaoqing"},{"last_name":"Li","full_name":"Li, Mingquan","first_name":"Mingquan"},{"first_name":"Mengyao","last_name":"Li","full_name":"Li, Mengyao"},{"first_name":"Yu","full_name":"Zhang, Yu","last_name":"Zhang"},{"first_name":"Qingyue","last_name":"Wang","full_name":"Wang, Qingyue"},{"last_name":"Wang","full_name":"Wang, Wen Jun","first_name":"Wen Jun"},{"first_name":"Siqi","last_name":"Huo","full_name":"Huo, Siqi"},{"first_name":"Miguel A.","full_name":"Bañares, Miguel A.","last_name":"Bañares"},{"first_name":"Marisol","full_name":"Martin-Gonzalez, Marisol","last_name":"Martin-Gonzalez"},{"full_name":"Ibáñez, Maria","orcid":"0000-0001-5013-2843","id":"43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","last_name":"Ibáñez","first_name":"Maria"},{"first_name":"Andreu","full_name":"Cabot, Andreu","last_name":"Cabot"},{"first_name":"Min","full_name":"Hong, Min","last_name":"Hong"},{"first_name":"Yu","orcid":"0000-0001-7313-6740","full_name":"Liu, Yu","id":"2A70014E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","last_name":"Liu"},{"first_name":"Khak Ho","last_name":"Lim","full_name":"Lim, Khak Ho"}],"title":"Thiol-Amine complexes for the synthesis and surface engineering of SnTe nanomaterials toward high thermoelectric performance","date_updated":"2025-10-13T09:48:12Z","page":"34395-34407","publication":"ACS Nano","month":"09","department":[{"_id":"MaIb"}],"OA_type":"closed access","year":"2025","scopus_import":"1","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"status":"public","citation":{"ama":"Meng W, Xu L, Lu S, et al. Thiol-Amine complexes for the synthesis and surface engineering of SnTe nanomaterials toward high thermoelectric performance. <i>ACS Nano</i>. 2025;19(38):34395-34407. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c12627\">10.1021/acsnano.5c12627</a>","short":"W. Meng, L. Xu, S. Lu, M. Li, M. Li, Y. Zhang, Q. Wang, W.J. Wang, S. Huo, M.A. Bañares, M. Martin-Gonzalez, M. Ibáñez, A. Cabot, M. Hong, Y. Liu, K.H. Lim, ACS Nano 19 (2025) 34395–34407.","ieee":"W. Meng <i>et al.</i>, “Thiol-Amine complexes for the synthesis and surface engineering of SnTe nanomaterials toward high thermoelectric performance,” <i>ACS Nano</i>, vol. 19, no. 38. American Chemical Society, pp. 34395–34407, 2025.","ista":"Meng W, Xu L, Lu S, Li M, Li M, Zhang Y, Wang Q, Wang WJ, Huo S, Bañares MA, Martin-Gonzalez M, Ibáñez M, Cabot A, Hong M, Liu Y, Lim KH. 2025. Thiol-Amine complexes for the synthesis and surface engineering of SnTe nanomaterials toward high thermoelectric performance. ACS Nano. 19(38), 34395–34407.","chicago":"Meng, Weite, Lixiang Xu, Shaoqing Lu, Mingquan Li, Mengyao Li, Yu Zhang, Qingyue Wang, et al. “Thiol-Amine Complexes for the Synthesis and Surface Engineering of SnTe Nanomaterials toward High Thermoelectric Performance.” <i>ACS Nano</i>. American Chemical Society, 2025. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c12627\">https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c12627</a>.","apa":"Meng, W., Xu, L., Lu, S., Li, M., Li, M., Zhang, Y., … Lim, K. H. (2025). Thiol-Amine complexes for the synthesis and surface engineering of SnTe nanomaterials toward high thermoelectric performance. <i>ACS Nano</i>. American Chemical Society. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c12627\">https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c12627</a>","mla":"Meng, Weite, et al. “Thiol-Amine Complexes for the Synthesis and Surface Engineering of SnTe Nanomaterials toward High Thermoelectric Performance.” <i>ACS Nano</i>, vol. 19, no. 38, American Chemical Society, 2025, pp. 34395–407, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c12627\">10.1021/acsnano.5c12627</a>."},"acknowledgement":"Y.L. acknowledges funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 22209034), the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project of Overseas Returnees in Anhui Province (Grant No. 2022LCX002), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JZ2024HGTB0239). K.H.L. acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 22208293) and the National Foreign Expert Project (Y20240175). Y.Z. acknowledges funding from the NSFC (Grant No. 52502313) and Wenzhou Basic Scientific Research Project (Grant No. G20240034). Q.W. acknowledges the financial support from the NSFC (Grant No. 22208292) and the “Pioneer” and “Leading Goose” R&D Program of Zhejiang (2025C04021). K.H.L. and Q.W. also acknowledge the Research Funds of the Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou (Nos. IZQ2022RCZX101, IZQ2021RCZX003, and IZQ2021RCZX002). M.H. acknowledges the funding from the Australian Research Council and the iLAuNCH Trailblazer, Department of Education, Australia. M.H. acknowledges the computational support from the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), Australia and Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, Australia. The author also thanks Dr. Lijian Huang and Mr. Mincheng Yu at the Institute of Zhejiang University for the swift technical assistance during XPS characterization and quantification.","publisher":"American Chemical Society","volume":19,"intvolume":"        19","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","pmid":1,"publication_status":"published","publication_identifier":{"issn":["1936-0851"],"eissn":["1936-086X"]},"doi":"10.1021/acsnano.5c12627","article_processing_charge":"No","issue":"38","_id":"20426","external_id":{"pmid":["40974325"]},"date_created":"2025-10-05T22:01:35Z","type":"journal_article","date_published":"2025-09-30T00:00:00Z","article_type":"original","day":"30"}