Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance

Although numerous thermoelectric (TE) composites of organic materials and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been developed in the past decade, most of the research has been related to polymers without much on organic small molecules (OSMs). In this work, benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i&g...

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Main Authors: Yiyang Li, Liankun Ai, Qunyi Luo, Xin Wu, Baolin Li, Cun-Yue Guo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/18/6519
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author Yiyang Li
Liankun Ai
Qunyi Luo
Xin Wu
Baolin Li
Cun-Yue Guo
author_facet Yiyang Li
Liankun Ai
Qunyi Luo
Xin Wu
Baolin Li
Cun-Yue Guo
author_sort Yiyang Li
collection DOAJ
description Although numerous thermoelectric (TE) composites of organic materials and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been developed in the past decade, most of the research has been related to polymers without much on organic small molecules (OSMs). In this work, benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]benzofuran (BTBF) and its derivatives (BTBF-Br and BTBF-2Br) were synthesized and their TE composites with SWCNTs were prepared. It is found that the highest molecular orbital level and band gap (<i>E</i><sub>g</sub>) of BTBF, BTBF-Br, and BTBF-2Br gradually decrease upon the introduction of electron-withdrawing Br group on BTBF. These changes significantly improve the Seebeck coefficient and power factor (PF) of OSM/SWCNT composites. An appropriate energy barrier between BTBF-2Br and SWCNTs promotes the energy filtering effect, which further contributes to the enhancement of composites’ thermoelectric properties. The composites of SWCNTs and BTBF-2Br with the smallest <i>E</i><sub>g</sub> (4.192 eV) afford the best thermoelectric performance with the room temperature power factor of 169.70 ± 3.46 μW m<sup>−1</sup> K<sup>−2</sup> in addition to good mechanical flexibility and thermal stability. This study provides a feasible strategy for the preparation of OSM/SWCNT composites with improved thermoelectric properties.
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spelling doaj.art-e70d0221bff44e1286eb2db15b094b342023-11-19T12:08:32ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492023-09-012818651910.3390/molecules28186519Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric PerformanceYiyang Li0Liankun Ai1Qunyi Luo2Xin Wu3Baolin Li4Cun-Yue Guo5School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaSchool of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaSchool of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaSchool of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaSchool of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaSchool of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaAlthough numerous thermoelectric (TE) composites of organic materials and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been developed in the past decade, most of the research has been related to polymers without much on organic small molecules (OSMs). In this work, benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]benzofuran (BTBF) and its derivatives (BTBF-Br and BTBF-2Br) were synthesized and their TE composites with SWCNTs were prepared. It is found that the highest molecular orbital level and band gap (<i>E</i><sub>g</sub>) of BTBF, BTBF-Br, and BTBF-2Br gradually decrease upon the introduction of electron-withdrawing Br group on BTBF. These changes significantly improve the Seebeck coefficient and power factor (PF) of OSM/SWCNT composites. An appropriate energy barrier between BTBF-2Br and SWCNTs promotes the energy filtering effect, which further contributes to the enhancement of composites’ thermoelectric properties. The composites of SWCNTs and BTBF-2Br with the smallest <i>E</i><sub>g</sub> (4.192 eV) afford the best thermoelectric performance with the room temperature power factor of 169.70 ± 3.46 μW m<sup>−1</sup> K<sup>−2</sup> in addition to good mechanical flexibility and thermal stability. This study provides a feasible strategy for the preparation of OSM/SWCNT composites with improved thermoelectric properties.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/18/6519benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]benzofuranderivativessingle-walled carbon nanotubesthermoelectriccomposites
spellingShingle Yiyang Li
Liankun Ai
Qunyi Luo
Xin Wu
Baolin Li
Cun-Yue Guo
Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance
Molecules
benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]benzofuran
derivatives
single-walled carbon nanotubes
thermoelectric
composites
title Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance
title_full Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance
title_fullStr Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance
title_full_unstemmed Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance
title_short Compositing Benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]Benzofuran Derivatives with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance
title_sort compositing benzothieno 3 2 i b i benzofuran derivatives with single walled carbon nanotubes for enhanced thermoelectric performance
topic benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]benzofuran
derivatives
single-walled carbon nanotubes
thermoelectric
composites
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/18/6519
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