Work

Creating Zipper‐Like van der Waals Gap Discontinuity in Low‐Temperature‐Processed Nanostructured PbBi2nTe1+3n: Enhanced Phonon Scattering and Improved Thermoelectric Performance

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Nanoengineered materials can embody distinct atomic structures which deviate from that of the bulk‐grain counterpart and induce significantly modified electronic structures and physical/chemical properties. The phonon structure and thermal properties, which can also be potentially modulated by the modified atomic structure in nanostructured materials, however, are seldom investigated. Employed here is a mild approach to fabricate nanostructured PbBi2nTe1+3n using a solution‐synthesized PbTe‐Bi2Te3 nano‐heterostructure as a precursor. The as‐obtained monoliths have unprecedented atomic structure, differing from that of the bulk counterpart, especially the zipper‐like van der Waals gap discontinuity and the random arrangement of septuple‐quintuple layers. These structural motifs break the lattice periodicity and coherence of phonon transport, leading to ultralow thermal conductivity and excellent thermoelectric z T.

Source: Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201805890

Authors: Biao Xu, Tianli Feng, Zhe Li, Lin Zhou, Sokrates T. Pantelides, Yue Wu

Institutions: Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Vanderbilt University, Iowa State University, Ames National Laboratory

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green