Synthesis and Microstructural Characterization of Cu2MnSnS4/Se4 Nano-Thermoelectric Material

Abstract

In the present study Cu2MnSnS4/Se4 nanostructured material is synthesized using mechanical alloying. The elemental powders were alloyed in a high-energy ball mill under the following conditions: milling time 25 hours, ball-to-powder mass ratio (BPR) 10:1 and a rotation speed of 300 rpm. Detailed investigation of the microstructure of the synthesized alloy was carried out. The starting elemental powders size and morphology were characterized using Apreo field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FEGSEM). Elemental mapping of the synthesized alloy was characterized using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) attached to FEGSEM system. Analysis of microstructure was performed using EDAX-TEAM advanced software. A dynamic laser light scattering was used for particle size analysis. The results showed that Cu2MnSnS4/Se4 nanostructured is successfully synthesized by ball milling. The Z-average size distribution of the particle reveals that ball milling results in a considerable refining in the particle size from 44 micron down to 923.5 nm. Further, it was observed that 94.4% showed an average size of 725.8±233 nm. Microstructural analysis confirmed the formation of a homogenous structure of Cu2MnSnS4/Se4 alloy in the powder and green samples. The elemental mapping confirmed the formation of solid solution of the processed alloy with homogenous distribution of all elements in the examined region. Quantitative analysis performed by EDAX-TEAM software confirmed the chemical composition and homogeneity of the processed material.