Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Se-doped SnS nanostructures for flexible thermoelectric applications

Flexible thermoelectric devices show high potential in generating electricity which is noiseless, perennial and widespread on human body temperature energy-harvesting applications. Tin Sulphide (SnS) is a p-type semiconducting material which gets a huge attention because of its superior thermoelectric properties such as low thermal conductivity and high Seebeck coefficient. In this work, we have synthesized SnS and SnSSex (x = 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1) samples via hydrothermal method and coated on carbon fabric through drop casting method for flexible thermoelectric (TE) application. XRD results confirm the orthorhombic crystal structure and formation of SnS and Se-doped SnS. HRSEM and HRTEM show the distribution of the elements and morphology of the SnS and Se-doped SnS, respectively. Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity are measured in the temperature range of 303-373 K. The maximum electrical conductivity of 85.5 S/cm is obtained for SnSSe0.075 at 373 K and the highest power factor of 1.56 mu W/mK(2) is achieved for SnSSe0.1 at 373 K.

Automated summary

Flexible thermoelectric devices have the potential to generate noiseless, perennial, and widespread electricity from human body temperature energy. SnS, a p-type semiconducting material, is highly regarded for its low thermal conductivity and high Seebeck coefficient. In this study, SnS and SnSSex (x = 0.05, 0.075, and 0.1) samples were synthesized via hydrothermal method and coated on carbon fabric for flexible thermoelectric applications. XRD results confirmed the crystal structure and formation of SnS and Se-doped SnS. HRSEM and HRTEM revealed the distribution of elements and morphology of the materials. Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity were measured in the temperature range of 303-373 K. The highest electrical conductivity of 85.5 S/cm was achieved for SnSSe0.075 at 373 K, and the highest power factor of 1.56 mu W/mK(2) was obtained for SnSSe0.1 at 373 K.