Recent progress of 2-dimensional layered thermoelectric materials

Abstract

Nowadays, there are enormous amounts of energy wasted in the world, most of which is in the form of waste heat. Thermoelectric effect, by converting heat energy into electricity without the release of dangerous substances, has attracted more and more interest from researchers. Since the discovery of graphene, more and more twodimensional layered materials have been reported, which typically own superior electrical, optical and other physical properties than that of bulk materials, and the development of the new theory and experiment technologies stimulates further research for them as well. In this paper, we firstly introduce the measurement methods and techniques that are appropriate for the thermoelectric properties characterizations of two-dimensional materials, and then discuss the current challenging issues related to that. Subsequently, graphene, transition metal disulfides, black phosphorus and other 2D materials in thermoelectric applications are introduced. Finally, we discuss the various strategies to improve the thermoelectric performance and the problems that need to be solved urgently.

Abnormal Thickness‐Dependent Thermal Transport in Suspended 2D PdSe2

“…In addition, one of the most direct and effective ways to effectively use waste heat is to achieve the direct mutual conversion of heat energy and electrical energy by using thermoelectric (TE) materials. [6][7][8] The figure-of-merit value of TE materials is ZT = S 2 𝜎T/𝜅, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, 𝜎 is the electrical conductivity, and 𝜅 is the thermal conductivity, including phonon and electron contributions. [9][10][11] Thus, studying the phonon heat transport behaviors is significant for the better design of electric devices and achieving good TE properties of materials.…”

Phonon Thermal Transport at Interfaces of a Graphene/Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes/Hexagonal Boron Nitride Sandwiched Heterostructure

“…Compared with Gr deposited on silica, the mobility of Gr on an hBN substrate shows a significant improvement by three times. [4,5] Singh and Kumar studied the influence of the interface on the mechanical properties of a Gr/hBN vdW heterostructure. [6] Compared with single-layer hBN, heat transport in a Gr/hBN vdW heterostructure is significantly enhanced.…”

“…[15] Therefore, research of tunable phonon thermal transport in Gr/hBN heterostructures is a key scientific issue for Gr/hBN heterostructure applications. [5] Although the above-mentioned studies have advanced our understanding of thermal transport in Gr/hBN vdW heterostructures, ITR in heterostructures containing both strong covalent bonds and weak vdW interactions has yet to be further explored. [14] Compared with the large number of reported Gr heat transport studies, there are relatively few studies investigating phonon heat transport of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their composite structures.…”