The dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) in bismuth antimony telluride (BiSbTe) bulk alloys has remained around 1 for more than 50 years. We show that a peak ZT of 1.4 at 100 degrees C can be achieved in a p-type nanocrystalline BiSbTe bulk alloy. These nanocrystalline bulk materials were made by hot pressing nanopowders that were ball-milled from crystalline ingots under inert conditions. Electrical transport measurements, coupled with microstructure studies and modeling, show that the ZT improvement is the result of low thermal conductivity caused by the increased phonon scattering by grain boundaries and defects. More importantly, ZT is about 1.2 at room temperature and 0.8 at 250 degrees C, which makes these materials useful for cooling and power generation. Cooling devices that use these materials have produced high-temperature differences of 86 degrees , 106 degrees , and 119 degrees C with hot-side temperatures set at 50 degrees, 100 degrees, and 150 degrees C, respectively. This discovery sets the stage for use of a new nanocomposite approach in developing high-performance low-cost bulk thermoelectric materials.

A major efficiency limit for solution-processed perovskite optoelectronic devices (e.g. light-emitting diodes, LEDs) is trap-mediated non-radiative losses. Defect passivation using organic molecules has been identified as an attractive approach to tackle this issue. However, implementation of this approach has been hindered by a lack of deep understanding of how the molecular structures affect the passivation effectiveness. We show that the so far largely ignored hydrogen bonds play a critical role. By weakening the hydrogen bonding between the passivating functional moieties and the organic cation featuring the perovskite, we significantly enhance the interaction with defects sites and minimize non-radiative recombination losses. Consequently, we achieve exceptionally high-performance near infrared perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs) with a record external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 21.6%. In addition, our passivated PeLEDs maintain a high EQE of 20.1% and a wall-plug efficiency of 11.0% at a high current density of 200 mA cm-2 , making them more attractive than the most efficient organic and quantum-dot LEDs at high excitations.