Constructing Highly Porous Thermoelectric Monoliths with High-Performance and Improved Portability from Solution-Synthesized Shape-Controlled Nanocrystals

Xu, Biao; Feng, Tianli; Li, Zhe; Pantelides, Sokrates T.; Wu, Yue

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01691

Constructing Highly Porous Thermoelectric Monoliths with High-Performance and Improved Portability from Solution-Synthesized Shape-Controlled Nanocrystals

Journal Article · Mon May 28 04:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nano Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01691· OSTI ID:1597890

Xu, Biao ^[1]; ^[2]; Li, Zhe ^[3]; Pantelides, Sokrates T. ^[2]; ^[3]

Nanjing University of Science and Technology (China); Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States); Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

Thermoelectricity offers a viable and reliable solution to convert waste heat into electricity. To enhance the performance and portability of thermoelectric materials, the crystal grain and pore structure should be simultaneously manipulated to achieve high electrical conductivity (σ), low thermal conductivity (κ), high figure of merit (zT), and low relative density. However, they cannot be synchronously realized using nanocrystals with uncontrolled domain size and shape as building blocks. Here, we employ solution-synthesized PbS nanocrystals with large grain size, controllable shape and tunable spatial packing to realize the aforementioned structural tuning. In this work, the as-sintered highly porous and well crystalline monolith exhibits high σ, low κ, high zT (1.06 at 838 K) and low relative density (82%). The phonon transport is studied by density functional theory highlighting the crucial role of phonon–pore scattering in reducing κ to enhance zT. Our strategy may benefit thermoelectrics and shed light on other technical fields such as catalysis, gas sensing, photovoltaics, and so forth.

Research Organization:: Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

DOE Contract Number:: FG02-09ER46554; AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1597890

Journal Information:: Nano Letters, Journal Name: Nano Letters Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 18; ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:: American Chemical Society

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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