Current Applied Physics, Vol.20, No.9, 1008-1012, 2020
Thermoelectric performance in pseudo-ternary (PbTe)(0.95-x)(Sb2Se3)(x)(PbS)(0.05) system with ultra-low thermal conductivity via multi-scale phonon scattering
Among the intermediate temperature (500-900 K) thermoelectric materials, both the pand n-type lead telluride (PbTe) compounds have attracted extensive interests. Till date various approaches were adopted to enhance the thermoelectric performance of n-type PbTe-based materials as they show greater potential space for further improvement compared to p-type ones. Herein, a pseudo-ternary n-type (PbTe)(0.95-x)(Sb2Se3)(x)(PbS)(0.05) system was designed and a large value of ZT = 1.61 at 850 K in case of x = 0.01 was achieved. Two factors are responsible for the improved thermoelectric performance. The incorporation of lead sulfide is the key factor to maintain a high level of power factor above 700 K and the multi-scale hierarchical architectures yield ultra-low thermal conductivity.
Keywords:Thermoelectric materials;PbTe;Sb2Se3 doping;Thermal conductivity;Multi-scale hierarchical architectures