Bulk Thermoelectric Materials Case Study

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Materials of Interest showing high thermoelectric behavior: 3.1. Bismuth chalcogenides and their nanostructures Materials such as Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 comprise some of the best performing room temperature thermoelectrics with a temperature-independent thermoelectric effect, ZT, between 0.8 and 1.0. Nanostructuring these materials to produce a layered super lattice structure of alternating Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 layers produces a device within which there is good electrical conductivity but perpendicular to which thermal conductivity is poor. The result is an enhanced ZT (approximately 2.4 at room temperature for p-type). 3.2. Magnesium group IV compounds Mg2BIV (BIV = Si, Ge, Sn) compounds and their solid solutions are good thermoelectric materials …show more content…

These materials possess relatively good electrical properties while maintaining very low thermal conductivities.
3.3. Skutterudites
The physical properties of skutterudites depend sensitively on their compositions. As depicted in figure 5, the linked octahedra produce a void, or vacant site, at the center of the (TX6)8 cluster, occupying a body-centered position in the cubic lattice. This is a large void that can accommodate relatively large metal atoms, resulting in the formation of filled skutterudites. Many different elements have been introduced into the voids of skutterudites, including lanthanide, alkaline-earth, alkali and Group IV elements.
Figure 5. Schematic illustration of a skutterudite crystal, where the guest atom is inside a 12-coordinated “cage” (green) surrounded by yellow pnicogen (family of Bi, Sb, As, P, or N) atoms. The metal sites are depicted in …show more content…

CsBi4Te6 is very responsive to the type and level of doping agent used. Low doping levels significantly affect the charge transport properties of CsBi4Te6. Appropriate p-type doping of CsBi4Te6 with SbI3 or Sb gives rise to a high ZT max of 0.8 at 225 K.
3.8. Nanostructured thermoelectric Materials:
Several nanostructured thermoelectric materials have been developed so far, some of them are; 2D thermoelectric nanomaterials: quantum wells and superlattices, 1D thermoelectric nanomaterials: nanowires, Nanocomposites: Bi2Te3-basednanocomposites. Bi2Te3 and their related nanocomposites, the best thermoelectric materials at room temperature, are extensively used for the first thermoelectric devices for commercial Peltier elements.
A polycrystalline p-type Bi0.5 Sb1.5 Te3 bulk nanocomposite fabricated by hot pressing of ball-milled nanopowders, exhibited ZT of 1.2 at room temperature and ZT of 1.4 at 373K, SiGe-based nanocomposites: a significant improvement in ZT was achieved in p-type SiGe nanocomposites, with a peak value about 0.95 at 1173–1223 K through ball milling and hot-pressing

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