Thermoelectric and Transport Properties of Permingeatite Cu3SbSe4 Prepared Using Mechanical Alloying and Hot Pressing.

Go-Eun Lee,Il-Ho Kim

doi:10.3390/ma14051116

Abstract

Permingeatite (Cu3SbSe4) is a promising thermoelectric material because it has a narrow band gap, large carrier effective mass, and abundant and nontoxic components. Mechanical alloying (MA), which is a high-energy ball mill process, has various advantages, e.g., segregation/evaporation is not required and homogeneous powders can be prepared in a short time. In this study, the effects of MA and hot-pressing (HP) conditions on the synthesis of the Cu3SbSe4 phase and its thermoelectric properties were evaluated. The electrical conductivity decreased with increasing HP temperature, while the Seebeck coefficient increased. The power factor (PF) was 0.38–0.50 mW m−1 K−2 and the thermal conductivity was 0.76–0.78 W m−1 K−1 at 623 K. The dimensionless figure of merit, ZT, increased with increasing temperature, and a reliable and maximum ZT value of 0.39 was obtained at 623 K for Cu3SbSe4 prepared using MA at 350 rpm for 12 h and HP at 573 K for 2 h.

Highlights

Thermoelectric conversion techniques have been studied for applications in solidstate cooling and power generation because they can convert thermal energy directly to electrical energy and vice versa
The energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric material is evaluated using its dimensionless figure of merit, defined as ZT = α2σκ−1T, where α is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, κ is the thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature
Cu3SbSe4 was produced after Mechanical alloying (MA) for 6 h (MA350R6H), and no secondary phases were identified after MA for 18 h (MA350R18H)

Summary

Introduction

Thermoelectric conversion techniques have been studied for applications in solidstate cooling and power generation because they can convert thermal energy directly to electrical energy and vice versa. Thermoelectric and Transport Properties of Permingeatite Cu3SbSe4 Prepared Using Mechanical Alloying and Hot Pressing. The energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric material is evaluated using its dimensionless figure of merit, defined as ZT = α2σκ−1T, where α is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, κ is the thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature.

Results

Conclusion