Mass Production of Pt Single-Atom-Decorated Bismuth Sulfide for n-Type Environmentally Friendly Thermoelectrics.

Single-atom materials are widely explored in catalysis, batteries, sensors, etc. However, limited by mass production and centimeter-scale assembly, they are rarely studied in thermoelectrics. Herein, we demonstrate a solvothermal synthesis assisted by a syringe-pump method to yield Bi 2 S 3 -supported Pt single-atom materials (Bi 2 S 3 -Pt 1 ) at a 10 g scale. Different from Pt n clusters, Pt 1 single atoms can increase carrier concentration at a high doping efficiency and provide a unique atomic environment to enhance carrier mobility, and an enlarged effective mass leads to an enhanced Seebeck coefficient. As a result, a high power factor (348 μW m -1 K -2 ) is achieved at 823 K. Benefiting from the scattering of phonons by Pt 1 atomic sites, a minimum thermal conductivity of 0.37 W m -1 K -1 is achieved. Consequently, the Bi 2 S 3 -0.5 wt % Pt 1 realizes a record-high zT of ∼0.75 at 823 K, being among the best in the state-of-the-art n-type environmentally friendly metal sulfides. The enhancement of the carrier mobility and suppression of the thermal conduction by the unique Pt 1 single atoms will inspire various fields, as exemplified by electronic devices and thermal management.