High ZT values of nanostructured Bi 2Àx Sb x Te 3 for energy conversion are fabricated by hydrothermal methods followed by cold-pressing and sintering in an evacuated and encapsulated ampoule. We show that the sample with a nominal composition of x ¼ 1.55 exhibits a dimensionless figure of merit ZT ¼ 1.65 at 290 K and 1.75 at 270 K with significant 60-70% improvement of that of the commercial stateof-the-art Bi 2 Te 3 materials around room temperature. The significant ZT improvement arises from the much-reduced thermal conductivity. The low thermal conductivity is mainly due to the increased phonon scattering in the nanostructured materials.
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