Local large temperature difference and ultra-wideband photothermoelectric response of the silver nanostructure film/carbon nanotube film heterostructure

TL;DR

This study presents a silver nanostructure and carbon nanotube heterostructure with exceptional photothermal and photoelectric responses, achieving high local temperature differences and broad wavelength sensitivity for advanced photothermoelectric applications.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel AgNSF/CNTF heterojunction with significantly enhanced photothermoelectric performance and ultra-wideband response, surpassing existing materials.

Findings

Maximum local temperature difference of 205.9 K.

Photothermal responsivity of 175-601 K/W.

Photoelectric responsivity of 9.35-40.4 mV/W.

Abstract

Photothermoelectric materials have important applications in many fields. Here, we joined a silver nanostructure film (AgNSF) and a carbon nanotube film (CNTF) by van der Waals force to form a AgNSF/CNTF heterojunction, which shows excellent photothermal and photoelectric conversion properties. The local temperature difference and the output photovoltage increase rapidly when the heterojunction is irradiated by lasers with wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to terahertz. The maximum of the local temperature difference reaches 205.9 K, which is significantly higher than that of other photothermoelectric materials reported in literatures. The photothermal and photoelectric responsivity depend on the wavelength of lasers, which are 175-601 K/W and 9.35-40.4 mV/W, respectively. We demonstrate that light absorption of the carbon nanotube is enhanced by local surface plasmons, and the output photovoltage is dominated by Seebeck effect. The AgNSF/CNTF heterostructure can be used as high-efficiency sensitive photothermal materials or as ultra-wideband fast-response photoelectric material.