Thermoelectric Properties of Cu2Te Nanoparticle Incorporated N-Type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3

Yong-Jae Jung; Hyun-Sik Kim; Jong Ho Won; Minkyung Kim; Minji Kang; Eun Young Jang; Nguyen Vu Binh; Sang-Il Kim; Kyoung-Seok Moon; Jong Wook Roh; Woo Hyun Nam; Sang-Mo Koo; Jong-Min Oh; Jung Young Cho; Weon Ho Shin

doi:10.3390/ma15062284

Thermoelectric Properties of Cu₂Te Nanoparticle Incorporated N-Type Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3

Materials (Basel). 2022 Mar 19;15(6):2284. doi: 10.3390/ma15062284.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul 01897, Korea.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea.
³ Department of Chemistry, Kookmin University, Seoul 02707, Korea.
⁴ Energy and Environment Division, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology (KICET), Jinju 52851, Korea.
⁵ Department of Materials Engineering and Convergence Technology, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea.
⁶ School of Nano & Materials Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Korea.

Abstract

To develop highly efficient thermoelectric materials, the generation of homogeneous heterostructures in a matrix is considered to mitigate the interdependency of the thermoelectric compartments. In this study, Cu₂Te nanoparticles were introduced onto Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3 n-type materials and their thermoelectric properties were investigated in terms of the amount of Cu₂Te nanoparticles. A homogeneous dispersion of Cu₂Te nanoparticles was obtained up to 0.4 wt.% Cu₂Te, whereas the Cu₂Te nanoparticles tended to agglomerate with each other at greater than 0.6 wt.% Cu₂Te. The highest power factor was obtained under the optimal dispersion conditions (0.4 wt.% Cu₂Te incorporation), which was considered to originate from the potential barrier on the interface between Cu₂Te and Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3. The Cu₂Te incorporation also reduced the lattice thermal conductivity, and the dimensionless figure of merit ZT was increased to 0.75 at 374 K for 0.4 wt.% Cu₂Te incorporation compared with that of 0.65 at 425 K for pristine Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3. This approach could also be an effective means of controlling the temperature dependence of ZT, which could be modulated against target applications.

Keywords: Cu2Te; composite; n-type; thermoelectric.

Abstract

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