Thermoelectric and transport properties of nanostructured Bi2Te3 by spark plasma sintering

N-type Bi2Te3 alloys with different microstructural length scales were prepared by mechanical milling and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, carrier concentration, and Hall mobility along and perpendicular to the loading direction were determined and characterized. The SPS sintered bulk disks using nanostructured powder contain high nanoporosity and weak (001) texture along the loading axis, in contrast to those obtained with coarse powder. The influence of nanoporosity and texture on the thermoelectric and transport properties in the n-type Bi2Te3 alloys is discussed in light of the microstructural characteristics at different length scales.