Ag/C60 heterojunctions for thermoelectricity

Abstract

A new composite fullerene C60/nanostructured Ag film is fabricated having the potential to be used for efficient thermoelectrics. It is shown that embedding C60 molecules into silver nanoparticle chains enhances the Seebeck coefficient S continuously by about 1 μV/K through the temperature range from 30 to 295 K. It is unlikely that this is due solely to the enhanced phonon and electron scattering at the C60 inclusions. It is therefore suggested that the Ag/C60 heterojunction thermopower contributes to the observed enhancement in S. The hybrid Ag/C60 system of this type can be used to tailor the thermoelectric energy conversion via Seebeck coefficient grading in Ag/C60 structures.