article published yes Yu Liu author 2A70014E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-7313-6740 Doris Cadavid author Maria Ibanez Sabate author 43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-5013-2843 Silvia Ortega author Sara Márti Sánchez author Oleksander Dobrozhan author Maksym Kovalenko author Jordi Arbiol author Andreu Cabot author In the quest for more efficient thermoelectric material able to convert thermal to electrical energy and vice versa, composites that combine a semiconductor host having a large Seebeck coefficient with metal nanodomains that provide phonon scattering and free charge carriers are particularly appealing. Here, we present our experimental results on the thermal and electrical transport properties of PbS-metal composites produced by a versatile particle blending procedure, and where the metal work function allows injecting electrons to the intrinsic PbS host. We compare the thermoelectric performance of composites with microcrystalline or nanocrystalline structures. The electrical conductivity of the microcrystalline host can be increased several orders of magnitude with the metal inclusion, while relatively high Seebeck coefficient can be simultaneously conserved. On the other hand, in nanostructured materials, the host crystallites are not able to sustain a band bending at its interface with the metal, becoming flooded with electrons. This translates into even higher electrical conductivities than the microcrystalline material, but at the expense of lower Seebeck coefficient values. American Institute of Physics2016 eng 2166-532X10.1063/1.4961679 410 yes Y. Liu, D. Cadavid, M. Ibáñez, S. Ortega, S. Márti Sánchez, O. Dobrozhan, M. Kovalenko, J. Arbiol, A. Cabot, Applied Physics Letters 4 (2016). Liu Y, Cadavid D, Ibáñez M, et al. Thermoelectric properties of semiconductor-metal composites produced by particle blending. <i>Applied Physics Letters</i>. 2016;4(10). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4961679">10.1063/1.4961679</a> Liu, Yu, et al. “Thermoelectric Properties of Semiconductor-Metal Composites Produced by Particle Blending.” <i>Applied Physics Letters</i>, vol. 4, no. 10, American Institute of Physics, 2016, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4961679">10.1063/1.4961679</a>. Liu, Yu, Doris Cadavid, Maria Ibáñez, Silvia Ortega, Sara Márti Sánchez, Oleksander Dobrozhan, Maksym Kovalenko, Jordi Arbiol, and Andreu Cabot. “Thermoelectric Properties of Semiconductor-Metal Composites Produced by Particle Blending.” <i>Applied Physics Letters</i>. American Institute of Physics, 2016. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4961679">https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4961679</a>. Liu Y, Cadavid D, Ibáñez M, Ortega S, Márti Sánchez S, Dobrozhan O, Kovalenko M, Arbiol J, Cabot A. 2016. Thermoelectric properties of semiconductor-metal composites produced by particle blending. Applied Physics Letters. 4(10). Liu, Y., Cadavid, D., Ibáñez, M., Ortega, S., Márti Sánchez, S., Dobrozhan, O., … Cabot, A. (2016). Thermoelectric properties of semiconductor-metal composites produced by particle blending. <i>Applied Physics Letters</i>. American Institute of Physics. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4961679">https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4961679</a> Y. Liu <i>et al.</i>, “Thermoelectric properties of semiconductor-metal composites produced by particle blending,” <i>Applied Physics Letters</i>, vol. 4, no. 10. American Institute of Physics, 2016. 3832018-12-11T11:46:09Z2026-05-12T13:05:12Z