Zinc Doping Induces Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Solvothermal SnTe

Lijun Wang; Xiao-Lei Shi; Lvzhou Li; Min Hong; Bencai Lin; Pengcheng Miao; Jianning Ding; Ningyi Yuan; Shuqi Zheng; Zhi-Gang Chen

doi:10.1002/asia.202400130

Zinc Doping Induces Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Solvothermal SnTe

Chem Asian J. 2024 Feb 21:e202400130. doi: 10.1002/asia.202400130. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Material Science & Engineering, National Experimental Demonstration Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Province Cultivation base for State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213164, China.
² School of Chemistry and Physics, ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia.
³ Yangzhou Technology Innovation Research Center for Carbon Neutrality of Yangzhou University, School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China.
⁴ Centre for Future Materials and School of Engineering, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield Central, Queensland, 4300, Australia.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of New Energy and Materials, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China.

PMID: 38380867
DOI: 10.1002/asia.202400130

Abstract

The creation of hierarchical nanostructures can effectively strengthen phonon scattering to reduce lattice thermal conductivity for improving thermoelectric properties in inorganic solids. Here, we use Zn doping to induce a remarkable reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity in SnTe, approaching the theoretical minimum limit. Microstructure analysis reveals that ZnTe nanoprecipitates can embed within SnTe grains beyond the solubility limit of Zn in the Zn alloyed SnTe. These nanoprecipitates result in a substantial decrease of the lattice thermal conductivity in SnTe, leading to an ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of 0.50 W m^-1 K^-1 at 773 K and a peak ZT of ~0.48 at 773 K, marking an approximately 45 % enhancement compared to pristine SnTe. This study underscores the effectiveness of incorporating ZnTe nanoprecipitates in boosting the thermoelectric performance of SnTe-based materials.

Keywords: SnTe; ZnTe; lattice thermal conductivity; nanoprecipitate; thermoelectric materials.

Abstract

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