Homogeneity of Zone-melted n-type Bi1.96Sb0.04Te2.70Se0.30 Thermoelectric Material

doi:10.15541/jim20250045

Abstract

Abstract: Zone melting technique is an important method for the commercial preparation of Bi₂Te₃-based thermoelectric materials. The zone melting purification process is affected by the segregation of materials. However, so far, the effect of zone melting process on the segregation mechanism of Bi₂Te₃-based materials has not yet formed unified understanding. In particular, the increase of material components significantly affect the segregation process and uniformity. In this study, n-type Bi_1.96Sb_0.04Te_2.694Se_0.3Br_0.006 material was used as the research object, and the melting-zone melting-annealing process was used to systematically explore the influence of zone melting temperature on the composition and uniformity of thermoelectric performance for the material. It was found that the zone melting temperature had a great influence on the uniformity of the ingot, and the axial composition segregation was an important factor affecting its uniformity. At high zone melting temperature (≥ 988 K), the segregation of Bi₂Te₃-rich phase appeared at the top of the ingot, which made the poor uniformity of thermoelectric properties of the material. The maximum difference of ZT at room temperature in different regions (top center, top edge, bottom center, bottom edge) of samples with zone melting temperature of 988 and 1003 K reached 31.5% and 28.6%, respectively. Reducing the zone melting temperature to 958 K significantly inhibited the segregation of Bi₂Te₃-enriched phase, and a cylindrical ingot (inner diameter of 16 mm, height of 55 mm) with excellent thermoelectric properties and uniformity was prepared. The maximum difference of ZT at room temperature in different regions was only 14%, and the maximum ZT of 958 K-ET sample was 1.05 at 350 K. This study reveals the regulation mechanism of zone melting temperature on the composition and thermoelectric performance uniformity of multi-component n-type (Bi, Sb)₂(Te, Se)₃-based materials, which provides important guidance for the preparation of high-performance thermoelectric materials with excellent uniformity.

Key words: n-type bismuth telluride, zone melting process, homogeneity, thermoelectric properties

CLC Number:

TQ174

WU Mingxuan, LI Junjie, CHEN Shuo, YAN Yonggao, SU Xianli, ZHANG Qingjie, TANG Xinfeng. Homogeneity of Zone-melted n-type Bi_1.96Sb_0.04Te_2.70Se_0.30Thermoelectric Material[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, DOI: 10.15541/jim20250045.

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Homogeneity of Zone-melted n-type Bi_1.96Sb_0.04Te_2.70Se_0.30Thermoelectric Material

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