Department of Materials Science, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, 259-1292, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 8;13(1):5783. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33022-4.
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are promising thermoelectric materials owing to their flexibility and excellent durability when exposed to heat and chemicals. Thus, they are expected to be used in power supplies for various sensors. However, their thermoelectric performances are inferior to those of inorganic thermoelectric materials. To improve the thermoelectric performance while maintaining the excellent characteristics of SWCNTs, a novel approach to form inorganic thermoelectric layers on the SWCNT bundle surfaces using electrodeposition is proposed. We synthesized SbTe nanoparticle-containing SWCNT films and coated them with electrodeposited SbTe layers. The SbTe nanoparticles were synthesized via a spontaneous redox reaction, which were then added to a SWCNT dispersion solution, and films were produced via vacuum filtration. At higher nanoparticle contents in the films, the SbTe electrodeposited layers completely covered the SWCNT bundles owing to the increase in the concentration of precursor ions near the SWCNT bundle surface, which in turn was the result of melted nanoparticles. The thermoelectric performance improved, and the maximum power factor at approximately 25 °C was 59.5 µW/(m K), which was 4.7 times higher than that of the normal SWCNT film. These findings provide valuable insights for designing and fabricating high-performance flexible thermoelectric materials.
单壁碳纳米管（SWCNTs）由于其在暴露于热和化学物质时的灵活性和优异的耐久性，是很有前途的热电材料。因此，它们有望用于各种传感器的电源。然而，它们的热电性能不如无机热电材料。为了在保持 SWCNTs 优异特性的同时提高其热电性能，提出了一种在 SWCNT 束表面用电沉积形成无机热电层的新方法。我们合成了含有 SbTe 纳米颗粒的 SWCNT 薄膜，并在其上涂覆了电沉积的 SbTe 层。SbTe 纳米颗粒通过自发的氧化还原反应合成，然后添加到 SWCNT 分散溶液中，通过真空过滤制备薄膜。在薄膜中纳米颗粒含量较高的情况下，由于靠近 SWCNT 束表面的前体离子浓度增加，电沉积的 SbTe 层完全覆盖了 SWCNT 束，这反过来又是熔融纳米颗粒的结果。热电性能得到了改善，在大约 25°C 时的最大功率因子约为 59.5µW/（m·K），是普通 SWCNT 薄膜的 4.7 倍。这些发现为设计和制造高性能柔性热电材料提供了有价值的见解。
