Achieving higher thermoelectric performance of n-type PbTe by adjusting the band structure and enhanced phonon scattering

Due to the very distinct electronic band structure and lower power factor, the exploration of n-type PbTe as thermoelectric materials has historically fallen behind that of p-type PbTe. In this work, n-type Pb0.97Sb0.03Te-based composites incorporated with Cu12Sb4S13 nanoparticles are synthesized and investigated. Sb doping is utilized to modify its carrier concentration in order to obtain n-type PbTe materials with a high power factor. Then, the incorporation of Cu12Sb4S13 nanoparticles can generate semi-coherent nanophase CuTe, and simultaneously optimize the thermal and electrical properties due to remarkable energy filtering effects and interface scattering in the higher temperature range. Eventually, a peak figure of merit ZT approximate to 1.58 was obtained at 773 K for the sample Pb0.97Sb0.03Te + 1.5 wt% Cu12Sb4S13, indicating that the incorporation of Cu12Sb4S13 in Pb0.97Sb0.03Te is an effective approach to improve its thermoelectric performance.

Automated summary

The exploration of n-type PbTe materials has been historically behind due to its distinct electronic band structure and lower power factor. In this study, n-type Pb0.97Sb0.03Te-based composites incorporated with Cu12Sb4S13 nanoparticles were synthesized and investigated. The results showed that controlling Sb doping and incorporating Cu12Sb4S13 nanoparticles effectively improved the thermoelectric performance of n-type Pb0.97Sb0.03Te, indicating the promising potential of this method.