SnSe Matrix Research Articles

Preparation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Cu2Se–SnSe Composite Materials

A series of p-type xCu2Se–SnSe (x = 0%, 0.10%, 0.15%, 0.20%, and 0.25%) composite thermoelectric materials have been prepared by the combination of ultrasonic dispersion and spark plasma sintering methods. The effects of secondary phase Cu2Se on the phase composition, microstructure, and thermoelectric properties of the composites were investigated. Microstructure characterization and elemental maps indicated Cu2Se grains uniformly distributed on the boundaries of the matrix. Transport measurements demonstrated that enhancement of the power factor and reduction of the thermal conductivity can be realized simultaneously by optimizing the adding content of Cu2Se. The highest ZT value of 0.51 at 773 K was achieved for the sample with x = 0.15%, increased by 24% compared with that of the SnSe matrix. These results demonstrate that optimizing the Cu2Se content can improve the thermoelectric performance of p-type SnSe polycrystalline materials.

Enhanced thermoelectric and mechanical properties of Na-doped polycrystalline SnSe thermoelectric materials via CNTs dispersion

SnSe-based thermoelectric materials have captured much attention since single-crystal SnSe exhibited record high ZT. However, the practical application is limited due to the poor mechanical properties and harsh production conditions of single crystals. Herein, we achieve high thermoelectric performances and enhanced mechanical properties in the Na-doped polycrystalline SnSe through implanting carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The CNTs are truncated and uniformly dispersed within the Na-doped SnSe matrix via a combination of cryogenic grinding and spark plasma sintering technique. It is found that Na-doped polycrystalline SnSe/CNTs composites maintain high carrier concentrations of approximately 4 × 1019 cm−3 at room temperature, resulting in great power factors. The dispersion of CNTs reduces the thermal conductivity without significant deterioration on the electrical conductivity. A maximum ZT of ∼0.96 at 773 K is achieved via adding merely 0.25 vol% CNTs. More fundamentally, the Na-doped polycrystalline SnSe samples incorporated with CNTs show superior mechanical properties, which are favorable for device fabrication and practical applications.

Origin of the enhancement in transport properties on polycrystalline SnSe with compositing two-dimensional material MoSe2

P-type SnSe compositing with 2D MoSe2 materials have been prepared by the solid solution method followed by the spark plasma sintering technique. The total thermal conductivities of SnSe/MoSe2 composites were found to be higher than for pristineSnSe at room temperature; and the disparity between them becomes smaller at higher temperatures, where the low thermal conductivities remained. Both the carrier concentration and the carrier mobility were significantly improved after MoSe2 was introduced into the SnSe matrix along the direction perpendicular to the pressing direction, leading to an extraordinary enhancement in electrical transport performance. The maximum ZT of 0.5 was obtained at 773 K for SnSe + 1.5%MoSe2 along the direction perpendicular to the pressing direction; this value is 1.5 times as large as that of the pristine SnSe.

Understanding of the Extremely Low Thermal Conductivity in High‐Performance Polycrystalline SnSe through Potassium Doping

P‐type polycrystalline SnSe and K0.01Sn0.99Se are prepared by combining mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The highest ZT of ≈0.65 is obtained at 773 K for undoped SnSe by optimizing the MA time. To enhance the electrical transport properties of SnSe, K is selected as an effective dopant. It is found that the maximal power factor can be enhanced significantly from ≈280 μW m−1 K−2 for undoped SnSe to ≈350 μW m−1 K−2 for K‐doped SnSe. It is also observed that the thermal conductivity of polycrystalline SnSe can be enhanced if the SnSe powders are slightly oxidized. Surprisingly, after K doping, the absence of Sn oxides at grain boundaries and the presence of coherent nanoprecipitates in the SnSe matrix contribute to an impressively low lattice thermal conductivity of ≈0.20 W m−1 K−1 at 773 K along the sample section perpendicular to pressing direction of SPS. This extremely low lattice thermal conductivity coupled with the enhanced power factor results in a record high ZT of ≈1.1 at 773 K along this direction in polycrystalline SnSe.

Effect of SiC ceramics on thermoelectric properties of SiC/SnSe composites for solid-state thermoelectric applications

Tin selenide (SnSe) based thermoelectric materials with varying amounts of embedded silicon carbide (SiC) particles were fabricated, and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The SiC particles were evenly distributed in the SnSe matrix, thereby leading to the formation of the SiC/SnSe composite samples. The introduction of SiC into the SnSe matrix improved the power factors, owing mainly to an increase in the Seebeck coefficient, and a decrease in the thermal conductivity arising from the formation of phonon-scattering centers. Consequently, a ZT of 0.125 (at 300K) was obtained for the SiC/SnSe composite with a SiC content of 1wt%; this value was larger than that of the pristine SnSe. The results of this study indicate that the introduction of SiC particles into the SnSe matrix constitutes an efficient strategy for achieving thermoelectric enhancement for solid-state applications.