Influence of copper telluride nanodomains on the transport properties of n-type bismuth telluride

Xing, Congcong; Liu, Yu; Li, Mengyao; Xiao, Ke; Guardia, Pablo; Lee, Seungho; Xu, Han; Moghaddam, Ahmad Ostovari; Roa, J.J.; Arbiol, Jordi; Ibáñez, María; Pan, Kai; Prato, Mirko; Xie, Ying; Cabot, Andreu

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2021.129374

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…The energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectric devices strongly depends on three key material properties: Seebeck coefficient ( S ), electrical conductivity (σ), and thermal conductivity (κ), which can be grouped within a dimensionless figure of merit: ZT = S 2 σ T /κ. Among the numerous strategies used to maximize this thermoelectric figure of merit and thus the device efficiency, the use of composite materials offers numerous advantages. − In composites, the thermal conductivity can be strongly reduced by effective phonon scattering at the interfaces of two dissimilar materials. − Additionally, high electrical conductivities can be reached by adjusting the charge carrier concentration with a minor influence on the charge carrier mobility through modulation doping. − Besides, the Seebeck coefficient can also be increased by selective scattering of minority and low-energy charge carriers at interfaces. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10−13 Besides, the Seebeck coefficient can also be increased by selective scattering of minority and low-energy charge carriers at interfaces. 14,15 A particularly interesting type of nanocomposite is obtained from combining a semiconductor host having a large Seebeck coefficient with metallic inclusions of a material providing a proper band alignment with the host. This combination offers a strong acoustic impedance mismatch between the two phases that results in an efficient interface phonon scattering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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PbS–Pb–Cu_xS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

Liu

Zhang

et al. 2021

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Composite materials offer numerous advantages in a wide range of applications, including thermoelectrics. Here, semiconductor−metal composites are produced by just blending nanoparticles of a sulfide semiconductor obtained in aqueous solution and at room temperature with a metallic Cu powder. The obtained blend is annealed in a reducing atmosphere and afterward consolidated into dense polycrystalline pellets through spark plasma sintering (SPS). We observe that, during the annealing process, the presence of metallic copper activates a partial reduction of the PbS, resulting in the formation of PbS−Pb− Cu x S composites. The presence of metallic lead during the SPS process habilitates the liquid-phase sintering of the composite. Besides, by comparing the transport properties of PbS, the PbS−Pb−Cu x S composites, and PbS−Cu x S composites obtained by blending PbS and Cu x S nanoparticles, we demonstrate that the presence of metallic lead decisively contributes to a strong increase of the charge carrier concentration through spillover of charge carriers enabled by the low work function of lead. The increase in charge carrier concentration translates into much higher electrical conductivities and moderately lower Seebeck coefficients. These properties translate into power factors up to 2.1 mW m −1 K −2 at ambient temperature, well above those of PbS and PbS + Cu x S. Additionally, the presence of multiple phases in the final composite results in a notable decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity. Overall, the introduction of metallic copper in the initial blend results in a significant improvement of the thermoelectric performance of PbS, reaching a dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT = 1.1 at 750 K, which represents about a 400% increase over bare PbS. Besides, an average ZT ave = 0.72 in the temperature range 320−773 K is demonstrated.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PbS–Pb–Cu_xS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

Liu

Zhang

et al. 2021

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Cu 2‐x Te nanodomains in such material do not significantly reduce the lattice thermal conductivity, which is already very low. The figure of merit was significantly improved from 0.35 obtained for nanocrystalline Bi 2 Te 3 to 0.95 for Bi 2 Te 3 ‐Cu 2−x Te containing around 4 wt% of Cu 1.5 Te [25] . Furthermore, the minor Cu addition in n‐type Mg 3 Sb 1.5 Bi 0.5 system substantially enhances the thermoelectric performance at low temperatures by maximizing electrical transport and suppressing thermal conductivity [1] …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Phonon Scattering Mechanism for Size‐Dependent Thermoelectric Properties of Bi₂Te₃ Nanoparticles

Choudhary

Rathore²,

Dixit³

et al. 2022

ChemistrySelect

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The effect of nanoparticle size on thermoelectric properties of Bi 2 Te 3 nanoparticles is theoretically analysed using a phonon scattering mechanism. The size-dependent thermoelectric properties in Bi 2 Te 3 nanoparticles give an opportunity to tune the nanoparticles' size, which helps to optimize the figure of merit (ZT = S 2 σT/k). The thermoelectric effect in Bi 2 Te 3 nanoparticles is investigated using the phonon scattering effect. Reduction in nanoparticle size increases interface volume ratio, which increases the scattering of phonons with grain boundaries. An increase in phonon-grain boundary scatterings decreases the thermal conductivity (k) due to the shortening of the phonon mean free path. The Seebeck coefficient (S) and simultaneously ZT increase significantly because of a decrease in lattice thermal conductivity. The highest value of ZT = 0.45 is obtained at temperature T = 400 K for 150 nm Bi 2 Te 3 nanoparticles, which has been enhanced up to ZT = 0.92 by reducing the nanoparticles size up to 30 nm at the same temperatures. The results obtained from the present model are in good agreement with the experimental data and reflect that the thermoelectric properties are dominated by the phonon scattering mechanism and depend on the density of interfaces in the material. Numerical analysis of thermoelectric properties from the present investigation will help in designing efficient thermoelectric materials.

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“…However, the strong correlation between these parameters makes the optimization of the material performance extremely difficult. Several strategies have been developed to maximize ZT, including engineering the electronic band structure of the TE material through doping [7], the use of energy filtering interphases [8], and the reduction in lattice thermal conductivity through the introduction of abundant grain boundaries [9]. Commercial devices use large amounts of highly crystalline Bi 2 Te 3 -based alloys as the active TE material, which accounts for a significant part of the total cost of the device.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of n-Type Bi2Se3 Nanosheets through Sn Doping

Zhang

Zuo

et al. 2021

Nanomaterials

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The cost-effective conversion of low-grade heat into electricity using thermoelectric devices requires developing alternative materials and material processing technologies able to reduce the currently high device manufacturing costs. In this direction, thermoelectric materials that do not rely on rare or toxic elements such as tellurium or lead need to be produced using high-throughput technologies not involving high temperatures and long processes. Bi2Se3 is an obvious possible Te-free alternative to Bi2Te3 for ambient temperature thermoelectric applications, but its performance is still low for practical applications, and additional efforts toward finding proper dopants are required. Here, we report a scalable method to produce Bi2Se3 nanosheets at low synthesis temperatures. We studied the influence of different dopants on the thermoelectric properties of this material. Among the elements tested, we demonstrated that Sn doping resulted in the best performance. Sn incorporation resulted in a significant improvement to the Bi2Se3 Seebeck coefficient and a reduction in the thermal conductivity in the direction of the hot-press axis, resulting in an overall 60% improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit of Bi2Se3.

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Influence of copper telluride nanodomains on the transport properties of n-type bismuth telluride

Cited by 24 publications

References 50 publications

PbS–Pb–Cu_xS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

PbS–Pb–Cu_xS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

Phonon Scattering Mechanism for Size‐Dependent Thermoelectric Properties of Bi₂Te₃ Nanoparticles

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of n-Type Bi2Se3 Nanosheets through Sn Doping

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Influence of copper telluride nanodomains on the transport properties of n-type bismuth telluride

Cited by 24 publications

References 50 publications

PbS–Pb–CuxS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

PbS–Pb–CuxS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

Phonon Scattering Mechanism for Size‐Dependent Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te3 Nanoparticles

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of n-Type Bi2Se3 Nanosheets through Sn Doping

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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PbS–Pb–Cu_xS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

PbS–Pb–Cu_xS Composites for Thermoelectric Application

Phonon Scattering Mechanism for Size‐Dependent Thermoelectric Properties of Bi₂Te₃ Nanoparticles