@article{9206,
  abstract     = {The precise engineering of thermoelectric materials using nanocrystals as their building blocks has proven to be an excellent strategy to increase energy conversion efficiency. Here we present a synthetic route to produce Sb-doped PbS colloidal nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are then consolidated into nanocrystalline PbS:Sb using spark plasma sintering. We demonstrate that the introduction of Sb significantly influences the size, geometry, crystal lattice and especially the carrier concentration of PbS. The increase of charge carrier concentration achieved with the introduction of Sb translates into an increase of the electrical and thermal conductivities and a decrease of the Seebeck coefficient. Overall, PbS:Sb nanomaterial were characterized by two-fold higher thermoelectric figures of merit than undoped PbS. },
  author       = {Cadavid, Doris and Wei, Kaya and Liu, Yu and Zhang, Yu and Li, Mengyao and Genç, Aziz and Berestok, Taisiia and Ibáñez, Maria and Shavel, Alexey and Nolas, George S. and Cabot, Andreu},
  issn         = {1996-1944},
  journal      = {Materials},
  number       = {4},
  publisher    = {MDPI},
  title        = {{Synthesis, bottom up assembly and thermoelectric properties of Sb-doped PbS nanocrystal building blocks}},
  doi          = {10.3390/ma14040853},
  volume       = {14},
  year         = {2021},
}

@article{10073,
  abstract     = {Thermoelectric materials enable the direct conversion between heat and electricity. SnTe is a promising candidate due to its high charge transport performance. Here, we prepared SnTe nanocomposites by employing an aqueous method to synthetize SnTe nanoparticles (NP), followed by a unique surface treatment prior NP consolidation. This synthetic approach allowed optimizing the charge and phonon transport synergistically. The novelty of this strategy was the use of a soluble PbS molecular complex prepared using a thiol-amine solvent mixture that upon blending is adsorbed on the SnTe NP surface. Upon consolidation with spark plasma sintering, SnTe-PbS nanocomposite is formed. The presence of PbS complexes significantly compensates for the Sn vacancy and increases the average grain size of the nanocomposite, thus improving the carrier mobility. Moreover, lattice thermal conductivity is also reduced by the Pb and S-induced mass and strain fluctuation. As a result, an enhanced ZT of ca. 0.8 is reached at 873 K. Our finding provides a novel strategy to conduct rational surface treatment on NP-based thermoelectrics.},
  author       = {Chang, Cheng and Ibáñez, Maria},
  issn         = {1996-1944},
  journal      = {Materials},
  number       = {18},
  publisher    = {MDPI},
  title        = {{Enhanced thermoelectric performance by surface engineering in SnTe-PbS nanocomposites}},
  doi          = {10.3390/ma14185416},
  volume       = {14},
  year         = {2021},
}