Abstract
Polycrystalline p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 thermoelectric (TE) alloys containing a small amount (vol.% ≤5) of SiC nanoparticles were fabricated by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. It was revealed that the effects of SiC addition on TE properties can be different between p-type and n-type Bi2Te3-based alloys. SiC addition slightly increased the power factor of the p-type materials by decreasing both the electrical resistivity (ρ) and Seebeck coefficient (α), but decreased the power factor of n-type materials by increasing both ρ and α. Regardless of the conductivity type, the thermal conductivity was reduced by dispersing SiC nanoparticles in the Bi2Te3-based alloy matrix. As a result, a small amount (0.1 vol.%) of SiC addition increased the maximum dimensionless figure of merit (ZT max) of the p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 alloys from 0.88 for the SiC-free sample to 0.97 at 323 K, though no improvement in TE performance was obtained in the case of n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 alloys. Importantly, the SiC-dispersed alloys showed better mechanical properties, which can improve material machinability and device reliability.
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Liu, DW., Li, JF., Chen, C. et al. Effects of SiC Nanodispersion on the Thermoelectric Properties of p-Type and n-Type Bi2Te3-Based Alloys. J. Electron. Mater. 40, 992–998 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1476-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1476-x