Mass Production of Pt Single-Atom-Decorated Bismuth Sulfide for n-Type Environmentally Friendly Thermoelectrics.

Zhao, Wei; Jin, Kangpeng; Fu, Liangwei; Shi, Zhan; Xu, Biao · Nano Lett · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Single-atom materials are widely explored in catalysis, batteries, sensors, etc. However, limited by mass production and centimeter-scale assembly, they are rarely studied in thermoelectrics. Herein, we demonstrate a solvothermal synthesis assisted by a syringe-pump method to yield Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>-supported Pt single-atom materials (Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>-Pt<sub>1</sub>) at a 10 g scale. Different from Pt<sub><i>n</i></sub> clusters, Pt<sub>1</sub> single atoms can increase carrier concentration at a high doping efficiency and provide a unique atomic environment to enhance carrier mobility, and an enlarged effective mass leads to an enhanced Seebeck coefficient. As a result, a high power factor (348 μW m<sup>-1</sup> K<sup>-2</sup>) is achieved at 823 K. Benefiting from the scattering of phonons by Pt<sub>1</sub> atomic sites, a minimum thermal conductivity of 0.37 W m<sup>-1</sup> K<sup>-1</sup> is achieved. Consequently, the Bi<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>-0.5 wt % Pt<sub>1</sub> realizes a record-high <i>zT</i> of ∼0.75 at 823 K, being among the best in the state-of-the-art n-type environmentally friendly metal sulfides. The enhancement of the carrier mobility and suppression of the thermal conduction by the unique Pt<sub>1</sub> single atoms will inspire various fields, as exemplified by electronic devices and thermal management.