Improving the zT value of thermoelectrics by nanostructuring: tuning the nanoparticle morphology of Sb2Te3 by using ionic liquids

Julian Schaumann; Manuel Loor; Derya Ünal; Anja Mudring; Stefan Heimann; Ulrich Hagemann; Stephan Schulz; Franziska Maculewicz; Gabi Schierning

doi:10.1039/c6dt04323b

Improving the zT value of thermoelectrics by nanostructuring: tuning the nanoparticle morphology of Sb₂Te₃ by using ionic liquids

Dalton Trans. 2017 Jan 17;46(3):656-668. doi: 10.1039/c6dt04323b.

Authors

Julian Schaumann¹, Manuel Loor¹, Derya Ünal², Anja Mudring³, Stefan Heimann⁴, Ulrich Hagemann⁵, Stephan Schulz⁴, Franziska Maculewicz⁶, Gabi Schierning⁷

Affiliations

¹ Inorganic Chemistry III - Materials Synthesis and Characterization, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, DE-44801, Bochum, Germany. mudring@iastate.edu and Faculty of Chemistry and Center for NanoIntegration (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, DE-45117 Essen, Germany. stephan.schulz@uni-due.de.
² Inorganic Chemistry III - Materials Synthesis and Characterization, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, DE-44801, Bochum, Germany. mudring@iastate.edu.
³ Inorganic Chemistry III - Materials Synthesis and Characterization, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, DE-44801, Bochum, Germany. mudring@iastate.edu and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
⁴ Faculty of Chemistry and Center for NanoIntegration (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, DE-45117 Essen, Germany. stephan.schulz@uni-due.de.
⁵ Interdisciplinary Center for Analytics on the Nanoscale (ICAN), NETZ, University of Duisburg-Essen, Carl-Benz-Str. 199, 47047 Duisburg, Germany.
⁶ Faculty of Engineering and Center for NanoIntegration (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Bismarckstr. 81, DE-47057 Duisburg, Germany.
⁷ Faculty of Engineering and Center for NanoIntegration (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Bismarckstr. 81, DE-47057 Duisburg, Germany and Institute for Metallic Materials, IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden, Germany. g.schierning@ifw-dresden.de.

PMID: 28091643
DOI: 10.1039/c6dt04323b

Abstract

A systematic study on the microwave-assisted thermolysis of the single source precursor (Et₂Sb)₂Te (1) in different asymmetric 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium- and symmetric 1,3-dialkylimidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) reveals the distinctive role of both the anion and the cation in tuning the morphology and microstructure of the resulting Sb₂Te₃ nanoparticles as evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A comparison of the electrical and thermal conductivities as well as the Seebeck coefficient of the Sb₂Te₃ nanoparticles obtained from different ILs reveals the strong influence of the specific IL, from which C₄mimI was identified as the best solvent, on the thermoelectric properties of as-prepared nanosized Sb₂Te₃. This work provides design guidelines for ILs, which allow the synthesis of nanostructured thermoelectrics with improved performances.