Enhancement of thermoelectric properties of carbon nanotube composites by inserting biomolecules at nanotube junctions

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an attractive material for flexible thermoelectric devices because of their mechanical strength, lightness, and high conductivity. However, their thermoelectric performance is restricted by their large thermal conductivity. In this letter, a novel material design for improving the performance of CNTs by inserting biobased molecules at CNT/CNT junctions is proposed. We demonstrate that the thermal conductivity is markedly suppressed, but the electrical conductivity is increased by the addition of cage-shaped proteins with semiconducting cores. The Seebeck coefficient also increases by selecting the appropriate core material. By improving the three above-mentioned important parameters, the ZT value is increased over 1000-fold.

Water‐Processable, Air‐Stable Organic Nanoparticle–Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites Exhibiting n‐Type Thermoelectric Properties

“…Nanocomposite formation is an attractive chemical way for tuning the thermoelectric properties of CNTs . The introduction of modular nanomaterials into nanotube composites offers several advantages including an energy filtering effect with nanoparticles at the nanotube–nanotube junctions . Since a carbon nanotube itself shows intrinsic, ballistic conduction, temperature gradient in bulk CNT materials is applied mostly at nanotube–nanotube junctions, rather than along the carbon nanotube.…”

Dispersion of Synthetic MoS2 Flakes and Their Spontaneous Adsorption on Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

“…[8] We are now considering the possible contribution of selectivec arrier transport at the SWNT/MoS 2 interface. [10,24,25] One may also expect larger Seebeck coefficients for SWNTsw ith highly discrete electronic states and aw ell-exfoliatedn anoscale texture. Betweent he composites with MoS 2 nanoplates (ca.…”

Synergistic Impacts of Electrolyte Adsorption on the Thermoelectric Properties of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

“…Maniwa and coworkers highlighted the importance of resistive SWNT–SWNT junctions on the thermoelectric properties . Additionally, the energy‐based filtering of charge carriers has been proposed using conjugated polymer and semiconductor nanoparticle‐intercalated junctions …”