Abstract
Excellent thermoelectric materials need both high carrier transport properties and low phonon transport properties simultaneously, which make it challenging to enhance thermoelectric performance. However, recent progress shows that sub-nanostructures can strongly intensify phonon scattering but scarcely impede carrier mobility, thus effectively contributing to high thermoelectric performance in PbTe/Se-based systems. In this perspective, we summarize the thermoelectric transport properties and internal atomic-scale structures in these PbTe/Se-based systems with sub-nanostructures. Then, their thermoelectric properties are comprehensively compared with other massively nanostructured PbTe/Se-based systems, reveling the favorable role of sub-nanostructures in achieving high carrier mobility. Finally, several other potential strategies to further maintain carrier transport properties and enhance thermoelectric performance are proposed, which might be extended to other thermoelectric systems.
Highlights
To present the high thermoelectric performance in sub-nanostructured PbTe/Se, their carrier mobility, power factor, the calculated ratio of carrier mobility to lattice thermal conductivity (μ/κlat), and final ZT values are systematically compared with massively nanostructured PbTe/Se systems
The maximum carrier mobility in n-type sub-nanostructured PbTe can achieve ∼1450 cm2 V−1 s−1 in the PbTe-Cu system with carrier density at ∼2.6 × 1018 cm−3, which is much higher than the carrier mobility ∼683 cm2 V−1 s−1 in the LIST-Ag system with carrier density at ∼3.1 × 1018 cm−3
Recent progress in maintaining carrier mobility to achieve high thermoelectric performance in n-type PbTe and PbSe is summarized in this perspective
Summary
Compared with other massively nanostructured n-type PbTe/PbSe-based systems, the thermoelectric materials with sub-nanostructures present much higher carrier mobility and a larger power factor especially in a low temperature range. As a result, this favorable role of sub-nanostructures can obviously enhance the maximum ZT and ZTave in the entire working temperature range. To present the high thermoelectric performance in sub-nanostructured PbTe/Se, their carrier mobility, power factor, the calculated ratio of carrier mobility to lattice thermal conductivity (μ/κlat), and final ZT values are systematically compared with massively nanostructured PbTe/Se systems. Some other strategies to maintain high carrier mobility in thermoelectric materials are further proposed
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