Simultaneous Optimization of Electrical and Thermal Transport Properties of BiSbSe1.50Te1.50 Thermoelectrics by Hot Deformation

doi:10.15541/jim20240190

Abstract

Abstract:

As a typical multi-layered compound thermoelectric (TE) material, BiSbSe_1.50Te_1.50, can be utilized to fabricate p-n junctions with the same chemical composition. It has great potential in the development and design of high-performance TE devices due to its ability to avoid lattice mismatch incompatibility and harmful band misalignment. However, the TE performance of n-type BiSbSe_1.50Te_1.50 is limited due to poor electrical transport properties, which hinders its further application in TE devices. Therefore, it is of great significance to improve the TE performance by enhancing the electrical transport properties while maintaining low thermal conductivity. In this work, a series of n-type BiSbSe_1.50Te_1.50hot deformation samples were prepared by solid-state reaction combined with hot pressed sintering. It is found that the preferred orientation and nanoscale lamellar structures with large surface areas form in hot-deformed samples. The donor-like effect elevates the carrier concentration, while these lamellar structures facilitate higher carrier mobility by providing expressways for carriers, giving rise to the enhanced electrical conductivity. Additionally, various and abundant multiscale defects are introduced into samples, evoking strong phonon scattering with different frequencies and thus lowering the thermal conductivity. The electrical and thermal transport properties have been synergistically optimized by hot deformation, realizing the improvement of TE properties for n-type BiSbSe_1.50Te_1.50. As a result, a peak thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 0.50 at 500 K is achieved for the hot-deformed sample, which increased ~138% compared to the undeformed sample (0.21). This work establishes a foundation for further advancement of the preparation for BiSbSe_1.50Te_1.50 TE devices with high conversion efficiency and homogeneous structure.

Key words: n-type BiSbSe_1.50Te_1.50, thermoelectric material, hot deformation, simultaneous optimization

CLC Number:

TN377

TIAN Zhen, JIANG Quanwei, LI Jianbo, YU Lifeng, KANG Huijun, WANG Tongmin. Simultaneous Optimization of Electrical and Thermal Transport Properties of BiSbSe_1.50Te_1.50 Thermoelectrics by Hot Deformation[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2024, 39(12): 1316-1324.

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of preparation method of HD0, HD1 and HD2 samples

Fig. 2 XRD patterns of BiSbSe1.50Te1.50 powder, bulk samples before and after hot deformation

Fig. 3 Texture patterns of HD0 and HD2 bulk samples (a) Pole figures along (006), (015), (1010), and (0018) directions; (b) Inverse pole figures (IPFs) and (c) orientation distribution function (ODF) patterns of HD0 and HD2 samples

Fig. 4 (a, c, e) SEM images of the fractured surface, and (b, d, f) the corresponding reconstructed 3D morphologies of HD0, HD1 and HD2 bulk samples (a, b) HD0; (c, d) HD1; (e, f) HD2

Fig. 5 Electrical transport properties of HD0, HD1 and HD2 bulk samples (a) Seebeck coefficient S; (b) Electrical conductivity σ; (c) Carrier concentration nH and carrier mobility μH at 323 K; (d) Power factor PF

Fig. 6 Intrinsic electrical transport properties of HD0, HD1 and HD2 bulk samples (a) nH-dependent |S|; (b) Carrier effective mass m* and reduced Fermi level η; (c) Temperature-dependent weighted carrier mobility μw

Fig. 7 Thermal transport properties of HD0, HD1 and HD2 bulk samples (a) Total thermal conductivity κtotal; (b) Electrical thermal conductivity κele; (c) Sum of the lattice thermal conductivity and bipolar thermal conductivity κL+κb; (d) Ratio μw/(κL+κb) as a function of temperature

Fig. 8 ZT of HD0, HD1 and HD2 bulk samples (a, b) Temperature-dependent (a) quality factor B and (b) ZT; (c) Average ZT in the temperature range of 323-550 K

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