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Abstract
To date, Bi2Te3-based systems are the most promising thermoelectric materials near room temperature for Peltier cooling and energy harvesting. Further improvement of the thermoelectric figure of merit zT is required to broaden the application of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectrics. In this study, we investigated the critical role of oxidation in the thermoelectric performance of p-type Bi0.45Sb1.55Te3 and proposed a way to improve the performance. Impurity oxides inevitably formed during the fabrication processes of constituent elements, leading to lowered mobility. To solve this problem, an oxygen getter element, Zn, was added to capture the oxygen from the Bi0.45Sb1.55Te3 matrix to increase the mobility. Moreover, the formed byproduct ZnO effectively scattered heat-carrying phonons simultaneously. The control of the oxidation process and the addition of Zn and Te led to a 30% enhancement in the zT of Bi0.45Sb1.55Te3 with the decoupling of improved electronic properties and reduced lattice thermal conductivity.
Published Version
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