Thermoelectric Properties of Mn1+x Te-Based Compounds Densified Using High-Pressure Sintering

In this paper, powder metallurgy technology combined with high-pressure sintering (HPS) were used to fabricate Mn1+x Te (x = -0.02, 0, 0.04) alloys at 743 K. The products of synthesis were identified by x-ray diffraction; microstructures were examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM); the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient were measured in the temperature range of 300-800 K. The results show that all HPS samples consisted of nanoparticles. Mn1+x Te (x = -0.02, 0, 0.04) thermoelectric materials with a high Seebeck coefficient and low electrical conductivity have potential to warrant further study in the future. The peak figure of the merit, ZT, reaches 0.59 for Mn0.98Te at 773 K.