Recent studies show the incorporation of graphene oxide (GO) in cement composites. But these composites are frequently incompatible with original materials for building rehabilitation. To overcome this limitation, natural hydraulic lime mortars were used as matrix, and the influence of GO percentage and type of mixing was investigated. The influence on the microstructure, mechanical and physical properties was assessed. The best results were obtained with dispersed GO at concentrations of 0.05% and 0.1%. A slight improvement of mechanical and physical characteristics was achieved. This could lead to new mortars with improved properties that can be used for building rehabilitation.

Developments in thermoelectric (TE) transparent p-type materials are scarce and do not follow the trend of the corresponding n-type materials – a limitation of the current transparent thermoelectric devices. P-type thermoelectric thin films of CuI have been developed by three different methods in order to maximise optical transparency (>70% in the visible range), electrical (σ = 1.1 × 104 Sm−1) and thermoelectric properties (ZT = 0.22 at 300 K). These have been applied in the first planar fully transparent p-n type TE modules where gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin films were used as the n-type element and indium thin oxide (ITO) thin films as electrodes. A thorough study of power output in single elements and p-n modules electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel is inclosed. This configuration allows for a whole range of highly transparent thermoelectric applications.

The combination of high transparency and good thermoelectric properties of SnO2 can open new field of applications for the thin film thermoelectric materials. Here we report on SnO2 thin films with transmittance above 90%, resistivity bellow 10-3 Ωm and a Power Factor around 10-4 W/m.K2, for a Seebeck of -255 μV/K, at room temperature. The effect of film thickness and post-deposition annealing on the thermoelectric properties were analysed. The performances of a single layer thermoelectric device are also presented.

The electronic and optical properties of p-type copper oxides (CO) strongly depend on the production technique as it influences the obtained phases: cuprous oxide (Cu2O) or cupric oxide (CuO), the most common ones. Cu films deposited by thermal evaporation have been annealed in air atmosphere, with temperature between 225 and 375 °C and time between 1 and 4 h. The resultant CO films have been studied to understand the influence of processing parameters in the thermoelectric, electrical, optical, morphological, and structural properties. Films with a Cu2O single phase are formed when annealing at 225 °C, while CuO single phase films can be obtained at 375 °C. In between, both phases are obtained in proportions that depend on the film thickness and annealing time. The positive sign of the Seebeck coefficient (S), measured at room temperature (RT), confirms the p-type behavior of both oxides, showing values up to 1.2 mV·°C–1and conductivity up to 2.9 (Ω·m)−1. A simple detector using Cu2O have been fabricated and tested with fast finger touch events