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We report the effect of the Ti3C2Tx MXene flake thickness on its inherent electrochemistry and heterogeneous charge transfer characteristics. It is shown that Ti3C2Tx undergoes irreversible oxidation in a positive potential window, which strongly depends on the flake thickness and pH of the electrolyte. Few-layered Ti3C2Tx exhibits faster electron transfer kinetics (k0 = 0.09533 cm s-1) with a [Fe(CN)6]4-/3- redox mediator compared to multi-layered Ti3C2Tx (k0 = 0.00503 cm s-1). In addition, the few-layered free standing Ti3C2Tx film electrode remains intact after enduring irreversible oxidation.

The influence of bismuth (Bi) substitution on the thermoelectric properties of AgSbTe2 compounds was investigated and compared with the undoped AgSbTe2. The addition of Bi dopants not only resulted in a reduction in thermal conductivity but also markedly increased the thermopower in the Ag(Sb1−xBix)Te2 series. Additional phonon scatterings were created by Bi doping and led to a reduction of thermal conductivity. The lattice thermal conductivity is significantly reduced which could be ascribed to enhancement of phonon scattering by dopants with greater atomic weight. In addition, the thermopower was enhanced, which was attributed to the electron-filtering effects caused by the nanoscaled microstructures. Because of the extremely low thermal conductivity (0.48 Wm−1K−1) and moderate power factor of AgBi0.05Sb0.95Te2, a maximum ZT value of (1.04 ± 0.08) was reached at 570 K; yielding an enhancement of greater than 10% compared with an undoped AgSbTe2. this result shows promising thermoelectric properties in the medium temperature range.

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials are of significant interest owing to their diverse applications ranging from photovoltaics and electronics to catalysis. Control over the organic and inorganic components offers flexibility through tuning their chemical and physical properties. Herein, it is reported that a new organic-inorganic hybrid, [Mn(C 2 H 6 OS) 6 ]I 4 , with linear tetraiodide anions exhibit an ultralow thermal conductivity of 0.15 ± 0.01 W m −1 K −1 at room temperature, which is among the lowest values reported for organicinorganic hybrid materials. Interestingly, the hybrid compound has a unique 0D structure, which extends into 3D supramolecular frameworks through nonclassical hydrogen bonding. Phonon band structure calculations reveal that low group velocities and localization of vibrational energy underlie the observed ultralow thermal conductivity, which could serve as a general principle to design novel thermal management materials.

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We report a maximal figure of merit (ZT) value of 1.1 at 600 K was obtained for the sample of which x = 0.03, representing an enhancement greater than 20% compared with a pristine AgSbTe2 sample. This favorable thermoelectric performance originated from the optimal Sn2+ substitution for Sb3+ in AgSbTe2, which not only increased electrical conductivity but also led to a substantial reduction in thermal conductivity that was likely caused by an enhanced phonon-scattering mechanism through the combined effects of lattice defects and the presence of Ag2Te nanoprecipitates dispersed in the matrix.

Thermoelectricity is a very important phenomenon, especially its significance in heat-electricity conversion. If thermoelectric devices can be effectively applied to the recovery of the renewable energies, such as waste heat and solar energy, the energy shortage, and global warming issues may be greatly relieved. This review focusses recent developments on the thermoelectric performance of a low-dimensional material, bulk nanostructured materials, conventional bulk materials etc. Particular emphasis is given on, how the nanostructure in nanostructured composites, confinement effects in one-dimensional nanowires and doping effects in conventional bulk composites plays an important role in ZT enhancement.