Abstract
Research on thermoelectric material that could convert heat into electricity is expanding rapidly in the effort to improve efficiency. Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3 or BT) is one of the most promising thermoelectric materials in converting waste heat into electrical energy; however, oxidation that occurs in the sintering process often decreases efficiency. In this study, we propose the use of activated carbon in the sintering of Bi2Te3, which is prepared using cold pressing to reduce the oxidation effect. Our results show Bi2Te3 possessing a polycrystalline single-phase rhombohedral form with lattice parameters of a = 4.3841 Å and c = 30.4816 Å. Covering the BT samples with activated carbon during the sintering process improved the power factor of Bi2Te3 from 0.775 × 10−3W.m−1K−2 to 1.0125 × 10−3W.m−1K−2. The improved thermoelectric properties exhibited in the carbon-covered BT samples may be attributed to the absence of an oxidation process occurring during sintering, as indicated by the energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS).
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