Enhancement in thermoelectric performance of n-type Pb-deficit Pb-Sb-Te alloys

[摘要] PbTe based materials are well known for their high performance thermoelectric properties. Here, a systematic study of thermoelectric transport properties of n-type Pb-deficit Pb0.98-xSbxTe alloys with carrier concentrations in the range of similar to 10(-19) cm(-3) is presented from room temperature to 623 K. A maximum thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) of similar to 0.81 was achieved at 623 K for 4 mol% Sb containing Pb-deficit composition, by the cumulative integration of enhanced power factor and significant reduction in thermal conductivity. The scattering of phonons at Pb vacancies, contributed to the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity, and thereby strikingly boosted the zT of the Pb-deficit samples when compared with the pristine Pb1-xSbxTe. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[发布日期] 2017-12-30

[关键词] Thermoelectrics;Pb-deficit lead tellurides;Sb alloying;Low thermal conductivity;Improved figure of merit