Magnetic-Field Dependence of Thermoelectric Properties of Sintered Bi90Sb10 Alloy

Abstract

The magnetic-field dependence of the thermoelectric properties and dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of a sintered Bi90Sb10 alloy were experimentally and theoretically evaluated. The Bi-Sb alloy was synthesized in a quartz ampule using the melting method, and the resultant ingot was then ground via ball milling. A sintered Bi90Sb10 alloy with a particle size in the range of several to several tens of micrometers was prepared using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The magnetic-field dependence of the electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity were experimentally evaluated at temperatures of 77–300 K for magnetic fields of up to 2.9 T. The results showed that ZT increased by 37% at 300 K under a 2.5-T magnetic field. A theoretical calculation of the magneto-Seebeck coefficient based on the Boltzmann equation with a relaxation time approximation was also performed. Hence, the experimental result for the magneto-Seebeck coefficient of the Bi90Sb10 alloy at 300 K was qualitatively and quantitatively explained. Specifically, the carrier scattering mechanism was shown to be acoustic phonon potential scattering and the carrier mobility ratio between the L- and T-points was found to be 3.3, which corresponds to the characteristics of a single crystal. It was concluded that the effect of the magnetic field on the Seebeck coefficient was demonstrated accurately using the theoretical calculation model.