Defect induced structural and thermoelectric properties of Sb2Te3 alloy

Structural and thermoelectric properties of metallic and semiconducting Sb2Te3 are reported. X-Ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies reveal that semiconducting sample has higher defect density. Nature and origin of possible defects are highlighted. Semiconducting Sb2Te3 hosts larger numbers of defects, which act as scattering center and give rise to the increased value of resistivity, thermopower, and power factor. Thermopower data indicate p-type nature of the synthesized samples. It is evidenced that the surface states are often mixed with the bulk state, giving rise to metallicity in Sb2Te3. Role of different scattering mechanism on the thermoelectric property of Sb2Te3 is discussed. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.