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Thin Film Tin Selenide (SnSe) Thermoelectric Generators Exhibiting Ultralow Thermal Conductivity
Author(s) -
Burton Matthew R.,
Liu Tianjun,
McGettrick James,
Mehraban Shahin,
Baker Jenny,
Pockett Adam,
Watson Trystan,
Fenwick Oliver,
Carnie Matthew J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201801357
Subject(s) - materials science , thermoelectric materials , thermoelectric effect , thermal conductivity , thermoelectric generator , optoelectronics , thin film , figure of merit , lead selenide , anharmonicity , nanotechnology , engineering physics , condensed matter physics , composite material , physics , thermodynamics , engineering
Tin selenide (SnSe) has attracted much attention in the field of thermoelectrics since the discovery of the record figure of merit ( ZT ) of 2.6 ± 0.3 along the b ‐axis of the material. The record ZT is attributed to an ultralow thermal conductivity that arises from anharmonicity in bonding. While it is known that nanostructuring offers the prospect of enhanced thermoelectric performance, there have been minimal studies in the literature to date of the thermoelectric performance of thin films of SnSe. In this work, preferentially orientated porous networks of thin film SnSe nanosheets are fabricated using a simple thermal evaporation method, which exhibits an unprecedentedly low thermal conductivity of 0.08 W m −1 K −1 between 375 and 450 K. In addition, the first known example of a working SnSe thermoelectric generator is presented and characterized.