Ultrahigh power factor and enhanced thermoelectric performance of individual Te/TiS 2 nanocables

Here, we present the successful fabrication of Te/TiS 2 heterostructure nanocables with enhanced thermoelectric (TE) performance by a two-step route (a facile solvothermal approach for Te nanowires and then the Te nanowires are used as templates for the controllable growth of the Te/TiS 2 nanocables), which is scalable for practical nanodevice applications. The heterostructure nanocables of different sizes can be prepared by varying the synthetic composition. Measurements of the Seebeck coefficient (S), electrical conductivity ( σ ), and thermal conductivity ( κ ) are carried out on the same nanowires over a temperature range of 2–350 K. The heterostructure nanocables show an ultrahigh power factor (S 2 σ ) with a maximum value of 0.58 Wm −1 K −2 , which comes from a high electrical conductivity and a strongly enhanced Seebeck coefficient. The figure of merit (ZT) can reach 1.91 at room temperature from a single na...

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