Thermoelectricity at the molecular scale: a large Seebeck effect in endohedral metallofullerenes

Abstract

Single molecule devices provide a unique system to study the thermoelectric energy conversion at an atomistic level and can provide valuable information for the design of organic thermoelectric materials. Here we present a comprehensive study of the thermoelectric transport properties of molecular junctions based on C₈₂, Gd@C₈₂, and Ce@C₈₂. We combine precise scanning tunneling microscope break-junction measurements of the thermopower and conductance with quantitatively accurate self-energy-corrected first-principles transport calculations. We find that all three fullerene derivatives give rise to a negative thermopower (n-conducting). The absolute value, however, is much larger for the Gd@C₈₂ and Ce@C₈₂ junctions. The conductance, on the other hand, remains comparable for all three systems. The power factor determined for the Gd@C₈₂ based junction is so far the highest obtained for a single-molecule device. Although the encapsulated metal atom does not directly contribute to the transport, we show that the observed enhancement of the thermopower for Gd@C₈₂ and Ce@C₈₂ is elucidated by the substantial changes in the electronic- and geometrical structure of the fullerene molecule induced by the encapsulated metal atom.