Reduced Graphene Oxides Modified Bi2Te3 Nanosheets for Rapid Photo-Thermoelectric Catalytic Therapy of Bacteria-Infected Wounds

Temperature variation-induced thermoelectric catalytic efficiency of thermoelectric material is simultaneously restricted by its electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. Herein, Bi2Te3 nanosheets are in situ grown on reduced graphene oxides (rGO) to generate an efficient photo-thermoelectric catalyst (rGO-Bi2Te3). This system exhibits phonon scattering effect and extra carrier transport channels induced by the formed heterointerface between rGO and Bi2Te3, which improves the power factor value and reduces thermal conductivity, thus enhancing the thermoelectric performance of 2.13 times than single Bi2Te3. The photo-thermoelectric catalysis of rGO-Bi2Te3 significantly improves the reactive oxygen species yields, resulting from the effective electron-hole separation caused by the unique thermoelectric field and heterointerfaces of rGO-Bi2Te3. Correspondingly, the electrospinning membranes containing rGO-Bi2Te3 nanosheets exhibit high antibacterial efficiency in vivo (99.35 +/- 0.29%), accelerated tissue repair ability, and excellent biosafety. This study provides an insight into heterointerface design in photo-thermoelectric catalysis.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the improved thermoelectric performance of Bi2Te3 nanosheets grown on reduced graphene oxides (rGO) through the formation of heterointerfaces. The phonon scattering effect and extra carrier transport channels induced by the rGO-Bi2Te3 heterointerface lead to an enhanced power factor value and reduced thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the photo-thermoelectric catalysis of rGO-Bi2Te3 significantly increases the yield of reactive oxygen species. This study provides new insights into heterointerface design in photo-thermoelectric catalysis.