Dimensional Crossover Engineering in MoS <sub>2</sub> /Organic Superlattices Breaks the <i>zT</i> Barrier for 2D Thermoelectrics
The rapid development of self-powered microelectronics demands thermoelectric devices (TEDs) that can simultaneously achieve high energy conversion efficiency and silicon micro-fabrication compatibility. While for conventional bulk TEs, their incompatibility with silicon micro-manufacturing restricts microelectronic integration. 2D materials, though CMOS-fabrication-friendly and widely explored for microelectronic devices, face critical limitations in thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency due to their low zT values (<0.2) stemming from unfavorable thermal conductivity-power factor tradeoffs. These challenges are overcome through orbital-property-driven dimensional engineering of hybrid MoS<sub>2</sub>/organic superlattices, which synergistically enhances electrical transport while suppressing thermal conductivity. Strain-adaptive intercalation of tert-butylamine (TBA) molecules creates MoS<sub>2</sub> bilayer superlattices exhibiting an electronic structure crossover between monolayer-like and bulk-like characteristics, thereby maximizing the density of states near the Fermi level. The optimized MoS<sub>2</sub> bilayer/TBA hybrid superlattice achieves a breakthrough zT of 0.6 at 373 K - 12-fold higher than monolayer counterparts and 100× surpassing bulk crystals. This represents the highest experimentally reported zT for 2D material-based TEDs, approaching performance benchmarks of commercial bulk TEs. The work establishes a paradigm of dimensional engineering in hybrid superlattices, thus enabling integration of high-efficiency 2D materials-based TEDs into silicon microelectronics-a critical step toward self-powered IoT systems and wearable technologies.
Authors
- Xin Qian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3198-2014)
- Shujia Yin
- Ronggui Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3602-6945)
- Jia Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1765-2852)
- Chunlei Wan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2032-9060)
- Yi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3097-2364)
- Yan Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0855-5628)
- Kaleem Ahmad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2932-4706)
Institutions
- Guangxi University (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- King Saud University (SA)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2025-08-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202510835
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.52
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China