Synthesis, characterization, and thermoelectric properties of superconducting (BEDT-TTF)(2)I-3 nanoparticles

The synthesis of (BEDT-TTF)I in the presence of two neutral amphiphilic molecules [N-octylfurfurylimine and 1-octanamine, N-(2-thienylmethylene)] leads to single and aggregated nanoparticles of 2 to 6 nm size. The samples contain highly crystalline nanoparticles of the β-(BEDT-TTF)I phase, confirmed by XRD. Temperature dependent resistance and magnetic susceptibility studies evidence the superconducting transition characteristics of the β-(BEDT-TTF)I phase. The I-V curve of a single nanoparticle aggregate, measured using AFM, exhibits an expected semiconductor-like behaviour. Thermoelectric studies led to a ZT of 1.47 × 10 at 300 K.
I. C.-G. thanks the Ministere de l’Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche for a PhD grant. The authors acknowledge DGA for funding the E. Y. PhD ICN2 acknowledges support from the Severo Ochoa Program (MINECO, Grant SEV-2013-0295). E. S., E. S. C., M. L. and S. M. B. are supported by NSF-DMR 1309146.