Discovery of colossal Seebeck effect in metallic Cu2Se

Both electrical conductivity sigma and Seebeck coefficient S are functions of carrier concentration being correlated with each other, and the value of power factor S-2 sigma is generally limited to less than 0.01 W m(-1) K-2. Here we report that, under the temperature gradient applied simultaneously to both parallel and perpendicular directions of measurement, a metallic copper selenide, Cu2Se, shows two sign reversals and colossal values of S exceeding +/- 2 mV K-1 in a narrow temperature range, 340 K < T < 400 K, where a structure phase transition takes place. The metallic behavior of sigma possessing larger magnitude exceeding 600 S cm(-1) leads to a colossal value of S-2 sigma = 2.3 W m(-1) K-2. The small thermal conductivity less than 2 W m(-1) K-1 results in a huge dimensionless figure of merit exceeding 400. This unusual behavior is brought about by the self-tuning carrier concentration effect in the low-temperature phase assisted by the high-temperature phase.