Evaluation of the Structure and Transport Properties of Nanostructured Antimony Telluride (Sb2Te3)

Antimony telluride, (Sb2Te3), and its doped derivatives are considered to be among the best p-type thermoelectric (TE) materials for room temperature (300-400 K) applications. However, it is still desirable to develop rapid and economical routes for large-scale synthesis of Sb2Te3 nanostructures. We report herein a high yield, simple and easily scalable synthetic method for polycrystalline Sb2Te3 nanostructures. Prepared samples were compacted into dense pellets by use of spark plasma sintering. The products were characterized by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. To investigate the anisotropic behavior of Sb2Te3 TE transport property measurements were performed along and perpendicular to the direction of compaction. Thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient measurement over the temperature range 350-525 K showed that the anisotropy of the material had a large effect on TE performance.