Molecular Engineering for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes/π-Conjugated Organic Small Molecule Hybrids

Hybridizing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with π-conjugated organic small molecules (π-OSMs) offers a promising approach for producing high-performance thermoelectric (TE) materials through the facile optimization of the molecular geometry and energy levels of π-OSMs. Designing a twisted molecular structure for the π-OSM with the highest occupied molecular orbital energy level comparable to the valence band of SWCNTs enables effective energy filtering between the two materials. The SWCNTs/twisted π-OSM hybrid exhibits a high Seebeck coefficient of 110.4 ± 2.6 µV K-1 , leading to a significantly improved power factor of 2,136 µW m-1 K-2 , which is 2.6 times higher than that of SWCNTs. Moreover, a maximum figure of merit over 0.13 at room temperature is achieved via the efficient TE transport of the SWCNTs/twisted π-OSM hybrid. The study highlights the promising potential of optimizing molecular engineering of π-OSMs for hybridization with SWCNTs to create next-generation, efficient TE materials.

The Effects of Lengths of Flavin Surfactant N-10-Alkyl Side Chains on Promoting Dispersion of a High-Purity and Diameter-Selective Single-Walled Nanotube

Flavin with defined helical self-assembly helps to understand chemical designs for obtaining high-purity semiconducting (s)-single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in a diameter (d_t)-selective manner for high-end applications. In this study, flavins containing 8, 12, 16, and 20 n-alkyl chains were synthesized, and their single/tandem effects on d_t-selective s-SWNT dispersibility were investigated at isomolarity. Flavins with n-dodecyl and longer chain lengths (FC12, FC16, and FC20) act as good surfactants for stable SWNT dispersions whereas n-octyl flavin (FC8) exhibits poor dispersibility owing to the lack of SWNT buoyancy. When used with small-d_t SWNT, FC8 displays chirality-selective SWNT dispersion. This behavior, along with various flavin helical motifs, prompts the development of criteria for 'side chain length (l_S)' required for stable and d_t-selective SWNT dispersion, which also explains l_S-dependent d_t-enrichment behavior. Moreover, SWNT dispersions with flavins with dodecyl and longer l_S exhibit increased metallic (m)-SWNT, background absorption-contributing carbonaceous impurities (CIs) and preferential selectivity of s-SWNT with slightly larger d_t. The increased CIs that affect the SWNT quantum yield were attributed to a solubility parameter. Furthermore, the effects of flavin l_S, sonication bath temperature, centrifugal speed, and surfactant concentration on SWNT purity and s-/m-SWNT ratio were investigated. A tandem FC8/FC12 provides fine-tuning of d_t-selective SWNT dispersion, wherein the FC8 ratio governs the tendency towards smaller d_t. Kinetic and thermodynamic assemblies of tandem flavins result in different sorting behaviors in which wide d_t-tunability was demonstrated using kinetic assembly. This study highlights the importance of appropriate side chain length and other extrinsic parameters to obtain d_t-selective or high-purity s-SWNT.

Noncovalent Functionalization of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with a Photocleavable Polythiophene Derivative

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have received extensive research attention owing to their extraordinary optical, electrical, and mechanical properties, which make them particularly attractive for application in optoelectronic devices. However, SWCNTs are insoluble in almost all solvents. Therefore, developing methods to solubilize SWCNTs is crucial for their use in solution-based processes. In this study, we developed a photocleavable polythiophene-derivative polymer dispersant for SWCNTs. The noncovalent surface functionalization of SWCNTs with a polymer allows their dispersal in tetrahydrofuran. The resultant solution-processed polymer/SWCNT composite film undergoes a hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic change in surface properties upon light irradiation (313 nm) because hydrophilic carboxyl groups are formed upon photocleavage of the hydrophobic solubilizing units in the polymer. Furthermore, the photocleaved composite film displays a 38-fold increase in electrical conductivity. This is due to the removal of the solubilizing unit, which is electrically insulating.

Unconventional Thermoelectric Materials for Energy Harvesting and Sensing Applications

Heat is an abundant but often wasted source of energy. Thus, harvesting just a portion of this tremendous amount of energy holds significant promise for a more sustainable society. While traditional solid-state inorganic semiconductors have dominated the research stage on thermal-to-electrical energy conversion, carbon-based semiconductors have recently attracted a great deal of attention as potential thermoelectric materials for low-temperature energy harvesting, primarily driven by the high abundance of their atomic elements, ease of processing/manufacturing, and intrinsically low thermal conductivity. This quest for new materials has resulted in the discovery of several new kinds of thermoelectric materials and concepts capable of converting a heat flux into an electrical current by means of various types of particles transporting the electric charge: (i) electrons, (ii) ions, and (iii) redox molecules. This has contributed to expanding the applications envisaged for thermoelectric materials far beyond simple conversion of heat into electricity. This is the motivation behind this review. This work is divided in three sections. In the first section, we present the basic principle of the thermoelectric effects when the particles transporting the electric charge are electrons, ions, and redox molecules and describe the conceptual differences between the three thermodiffusion phenomena. In the second section, we review the efforts made on developing devices exploiting these three effects and give a thorough understanding of what limits their performance. In the third section, we review the state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials investigated so far and provide a comprehensive understanding of what limits charge and energy transport in each of these classes of materials.

Supramolecular Functionalization for Improving Thermoelectric Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes-Small Organic Molecule Hybrids

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNTs-P)-small organic molecule hybrid materials are promising candidates for achieving high thermoelectric (TE) performance. In this study, we synthesized rod-coil amphiphilic molecules, that is, tri(ethylene oxide) chain-attached bis(bithiophenyl)-terphenyl derivatives (1 and 2). Supramolecular functionalization of SWCNTs-P with 1 or 2 induced charge-transfer interactions between them. Improved TE properties of the supramolecular hybrids (SWCNTs-1 and SWCNTs-2) are attributed to increased charge-carrier concentration (electrical conductivity), interfacial phonon scattering (thermal conductivity), and energy difference between the transport and Fermi levels (E_Tr - E_F; Seebeck coefficient). SWCNTs-2 exhibited a ZT of 0.42 × 10^-2 at 300 K, which is 350% larger than that of SWCNTs-P. Furthermore, 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F₄TCNQ)-doped SWCNTs-2 showed the highest ZT value of 1.96 × 10^-2 at 300 K among SWCNTs-P/small organic molecule hybrids known until now. These results demonstrated that the supramolecular functionalization of SWCNTs-P with small organic molecules could be useful for enhancement of TE performance and applications in wearable/flexible thermoelectrics.

Thermoelectric Properties of Thin Films from Sorted Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) remain one of the most promising materials of our times. One of the goals is to implement semiconducting and metallic SWCNTs in photonics and microelectronics, respectively. In this work, we demonstrated how such materials could be obtained from the parent material by using the aqueous two-phase extraction method (ATPE) at a large scale. We also developed a dedicated process on how to harvest the SWCNTs from the polymer matrices used to form the biphasic system. The technique is beneficial as it isolates SWCNTs with high purity while simultaneously maintaining their surface intact. To validate the utility of the metallic and semiconducting SWCNTs obtained this way, we transformed them into thin free-standing films and characterized their thermoelectric properties.

Flavin Mononucleotide-Mediated Formation of Highly Electrically Conductive Hierarchical Monoclinic Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube-Polyamide 6 Nanocomposites

Although the multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) is a promising material for use in the production of high electrical conductivity (σ) polymer nanocomposites, its tendency to aggregate and distribute randomly in a polymer matrix is a problematic issue. In the current study, we developed a highly conductive and monoclinically aligned MWNT-polyamide 6 (PA) nanocomposite containing interfacing flavin moieties. In this system, the flavin mononucleotide (FMN) initially serves as a noncovalent aqueous surfactant for individualizing MWNTs in the form of FMN-wrapped MWNTs (FMN-MWNT), and then partially decomposed FMN (dFMN) induces crystallization of the PA on the MWNTs. The results of experiments performed using material subjected to partial dissolution of PA matrix show that the nanocomposite PA-dFMN-MWNT, formed by melt extrusion of PA and dFMN-MWNT, contains a three-dimensional monoclinic MWNT network embedded in an equally monoclinic PA matrix. An increase in monoclinic network promoted by an increase in the content of MWNT increases σ of the nanocomposite up to 100 S/m, the highest value reported for a polymer-MWNT nanocomposite. X-ray diffraction along with transmission electron microscopy reveal that the presence of dFMN induces the formation of monoclinic PA on dFMN-MWNT. The high σ of the PA-dFMN-MWNT nanocomposite is also a consequence of a minimization of defect formation of MWNT by noncovalent functionalization. Hierarchical structural ordering, yet individualization of MWNTs, provides a viable strategy to improve the physical property of nanocomposites.

Electrochemical biosensor for methyl parathion based on single-walled carbon nanotube/glutaraldehyde crosslinked acetylcholinesterase-wrapped bovine serum albumin nanocomposites

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) have been demonstrated as an excellent material for transistors, miniaturized devices and sensors due to their high carrier mobility, stability, scattering-free ballistic transport of carriers etc. Herein, we have designed a biosensor to selectively detect methyl parathion (MP, organophosphorus pesticide) using glutaraldehyde (Glu) cross-linked with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) immobilized on s-SWCNTs wrapped with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The fabricated biosensor was characterized and confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). In the presence of MP, the effective interaction between AChE and MP favours the accumulation of MP-AChE complex on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface which reduces the electron transfer property. Based on this interaction, detection of various concentration of MP was demonstrated by SWV using BSA/AChE-Glu-s-SWCNTs composite modified electrode. The proposed biosensor exhibited a wide linear range (WLR) for MP target in 100 mM phosphate buffered saline solution (PBS) (pH 7.4) from 1 × 10^-10 M to 5 × 10^-6 M with a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.75 × 10^-11 M. In addition, the BSA/AChE-Glu-s-SWCNTs/GCE biosensor showed good repeatability and reproducibility for MP detection. Moreover, the proposed biosensor showed better electrode stability when stored at 4 °C. This new electrochemical biosensor is also exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity for MP, which made it possible to test MP in real strawberry and apple juices. Furthermore, the BSA/AChE-Glu-s-SWCNTs/GCE offered a favourable electron transfer between the acetylthiocholine chloride (ATCl) and electrode interface than BSA/AChE-s-SWCNTs/GCE, s-SWCNTs/GCE and bare GCE.