Transport Properties of CdSb Alloys with a Promising Thermoelectric Performance

Binqiang Zhou; Cheng Sun; Xiao Wang; Zhonglin Bu; Wen Li; Ran Ang; Yanzhong Pei

doi:10.1021/acsami.9b10042

Transport Properties of CdSb Alloys with a Promising Thermoelectric Performance

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Jul 31;11(30):27098-27103. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b10042. Epub 2019 Jul 19.

Authors

Binqiang Zhou¹, Cheng Sun¹, Xiao Wang¹, Zhonglin Bu¹, Wen Li¹, Ran Ang², Yanzhong Pei¹

Affiliations

¹ Interdisciplinary Materials Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering , Tongji University , 4800 Caoan Rd. , Shanghai 201804 , China.
² Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China.

PMID: 31283881
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b10042

Abstract

Binary group II-V antimonides, especially Zn₄Sb₃ and ZnSb, have shown great potential for thermoelectric applications because of the intrinsic low lattice thermal conductivity. Another member from this family, CdSb, has also been revealed to show a promising thermoelectric performance, particularly in its single crystal form. This work focuses on the thermoelectric transport properties of polycrystalline CdSb and Cd_1-xZn_xSb alloys with various doping. It is shown that Ag doping at the cation site enables the highest hole concentration. The obtained broad range of carrier concentrations ensures a systematical assessment on the transport properties of CdSb-based materials and on its potential for thermoelectric applications, according to an effective single parabolic band (SPB) approximation with acoustic phonon scattering. This work not only details the fundamental parameters that determine the thermoelectric performance but also demonstrates CdSb alloys as highly efficient thermoelectrics.

Keywords: CdSb alloys; SPB model; carrier concentration; thermoelectric; transport properties.