Engineering thermoelectric and mechanical properties by nanoporosity in calcium cobaltate films from reactions of Ca(OH)/CoO multilayers.

Controlling nanoporosity to favorably alter multiple properties in layered crystalline inorganic thin films is a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that the thermoelectric and mechanical properties of CaCoO films can be engineered through nanoporosity control by annealing multiple Ca(OH)/CoO reactant bilayers with characteristic bilayer thicknesses (b ). Our results show that doubling b , , from 12 to 26 nm, more than triples the average pore size from ∼120 nm to ∼400 nm and increases the pore fraction from 3% to 17.

Synthesis of textured discontinuous-nanoisland CaCoO thin films.

Controllable engineering of the nanoporosity in layered CaCoO remains a challenge. Here, we show the synthesis of discontinuous films with islands of highly textured CaCoO, effectively constituting distributed nanoparticles with controlled porosity and morphology. These discontinuously dispersed textured CaCoO nanoparticles may be a candidate for hybrid thermoelectrics.

Mechanically Flexible Thermoelectric Hybrid Thin Films by Introduction of PEDOT:PSS in Nanoporous CaCoO.

Nanoporous CaCoO exhibits high thermoelectric properties and low thermal conductivity and can be made mechanically flexible by nanostructural design. To improve the mechanical flexibility with retained thermoelectric properties near room temperature, however, it is desirable to incorporate an organic filler in this nanoporous inorganic matrix material. Here, double-layer nanoporous CaCoO/PEDOT:PSS thin films were synthesized by spin-coating PEDOT:PSS into the nanopores.

Mechanochemical Formation of Protein Nanofibril: Graphene Nanoplatelet Hybrids and Their Thermoelectric Properties.

Hybrids between biopolymeric materials and low-cost conductive carbon-based materials are interesting materials for applications in electronics, potentially reducing the need for materials that generate environmentally harmful electronic waste. Herein we investigate a scalable ball-milling method to form graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) by milling graphite flakes with aqueous dispersions of proteins or protein nanofibrils (PNFs). Aqueous GNP dispersions with high concentrations (up to 3.