ARTIFICIAL 2D ASSEMBLIES FOR APPLICATIONS IN ADVANCED THERMOELECTRIC DEVICES

Grant Agency
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
Number
LUAUS25042
Year from
2025
Year to
2028

The discovery of 2D materials led to dramatic developments in the area of Nanotechnology. Their unique properties are promising for many applications. Reduced dimensionality in these materials leads in general to an increase of the density of electronic states at the Fermi level, which is potentially attractive for their relatively unexplored application in thermoelectric devices. The ability to stack 2D layers of different 2D materials on top of each other, and control of the twist angle between the layers, enables us to fabricate precisely tailored heterostructure materials not found in nature. The proposed project aims to experimentally demonstrate the transverse Seebeck effect on a device based on a 2D material heterostructure (GeSe/SnSe). To achieve this goal, we will 1) prepare and characterize 2D layers from bulk single crystals of GeSe and SnSe, 2) construct devices for measurement of electrical and thermal properties of 2D GeSe and SnSe, 3) assemble and characterize GeSe/SnSe heterostructures and 4) construct devices based on GeSe/SnSe heterostructures with defined mutual orientation of their 2D layers. The experimental work will be further supported by modeling and molecular dynamics calculations. The successful device will generate electrical power from an applied temperature gradient, and will achieve this at an unprecedented small size. Since the transverse Seebeck effect relies on the charge transfer between the 2D layers and the asymmetric transport of electrons and holes in the 2D layers, this is a particularly suitable platform to demonstrate the unique properties of 2D heterostructures achieved by careful engineering of the materials and the mutual orientation of the layers. The collaborative project will establish a further cooperation between the Czech and the American teams bringing specialized thermoelectric expertise to the Czech Republic and 2D materials expertise to the United States, through exploiting a synergy effects by mentoring of students and postdocs, sharing of equipment and facilities, and training-focused visits.

doc. RNDr. Ing. Kalbáč Martin Ph.D., DSc.

E-mail
martin.kalbacatjh-inst.cas.cz
Room
202, 203, 08
Extension
+420 26605 3804, 3445, 2101