Abstract
Solution‐processable semiconducting 2D nanoplates and 1D nanorods are attractive building blocks for diverse technologies, including thermoelectrics, optoelectronics, and electronics. However, transforming colloidal nanoparticles into high‐performance and flexible devices remains a challenge. For example, flexible films prepared by solution‐processed semiconducting nanocrystals are typically plagued by poor thermoelectric and electrical transport properties. Here, a highly scalable 3D conformal additive printing approach to directly convert solution‐processed 2D nanoplates and 1D nanorods into high‐performing flexible devices is reported. The flexible films printed using Sb2Te3 nanoplates and subsequently sintered at 400 °C demonstrate exceptional thermoelectric power factor of 1.5 mW m−1 K−2 over a wide temperature range (350–550 K). By synergistically combining Sb2Te3 2D nanoplates with Te 1D nanorods, the power factor of the flexible film reaches an unprecedented maximum value of 2.2 mW m−1 K−2 at 500 K, which is significantly higher than the best reported values for p‐type flexible thermoelectric films. A fully printed flexible generator device exhibits a competitive electrical power density of 7.65 mW cm−2 with a reasonably small temperature difference of 60 K. The versatile printing method for directly transforming nanoscale building blocks into functional devices paves the way for developing not only flexible energy harvesters but also a broad range of flexible/wearable electronics and sensors.
Highlights
By synergistically combining Sb2Te3 2D nanoplates with Te 1D nanorods, the attracted particular attention because of their high figure of merit (ZT) near room temperature.[18]
The as-fabricated Sb2Te3 nanoplates were cleaned by hydrazine hydrate and redispersed in a mixture of ethylene glycol (EG), glycerol, and ethanol with optimized ratio of 35:5:60 wt%
The remaining polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) surfactant helps prevent the nanoplates from aggregation, which can be removed in the following sintering process
Summary
Sb2Te3 nanoplates were fabricated using a facile energy-saving hydrothermal method (see details in the Experimental Section). These values were chosen to be consistent with the ambient temperature experimental S. The similar temperature dependence of the calculated curves and the experimental data supports the inference that reduced doping level in the nanostructured Sb2Te3-Te leads to enhancement in S. The EFF shows both elevated values and an increase as carrier concentration is reduced from typical values of the bulk This leads to high values in the carrier concentration range where S is consistent with the experimental values for nanostructured Sb2Te3-Te system.[49]. The high EFF is connected with the topological insulator behavior of Sb2Te3, which leads to a highly nonparabolic band structure This can be seen in the carrier pocket visualization of Figure 4d. The high power density indicates that a small size of the printed f-TEG is sufficient to power a range of typical internet of things and sensors.[50]
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