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Thermoelectric performance of (AgBiTe2)1-x(SnTe)x with stable cubic enabled by enhanced configurational entropy

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Abstract

ABX2 (A = Ag, Na, Cu; B = Sb, Bi; X = S, Se, Te) (Groups I-V-VI2) compounds, which are all characterized by the ultralow lattice thermal conductivity because of their strong lattice anharmonicity caused by lone-pair electrons, have aroused wide attention in thermoelectric community. The practical application of thermoelectric devices usually requires both the compatible n-type and p-type materials simultaneously. However, most of I-V-VI2 compounds are intrinsic p-type semiconductors, lacking their n-type counterparts for thermoelectrics. Herein, in this work, we increase the configuration entropy of AgBiTe2 by alloying SnTe, in order to stabilize the cubic phase at room temperature. With further optimization of thermal and electrical performance, the thermoelectric performance could be improved simultaneously in both n- and p-type (AgBiTe2)1-x(SnTe)x (x = 0.3, 0.4) solid solutions. Finally, p-type compound with the nominal composition of (AgBi0.99Cd0.01Te2)0.6(SnTe)0.4 and n-type of (AgBiTe2)0.7(SnTe)0.3 ~ Br 6% show the maximum zT of ~ 0.33 and ~ 0.21, at 381 and 423 K, respectively.

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摘要

ABX2 (A = Ag, Na, Cu；B =Sb, Bi; X = S, Se, Te) ( I-V-VI2族)化合物因其由孤对电子引起的晶格非谐性强而具有极低的晶格热导率，引起了热电学界的广泛关注。热电器件的实际应用通常需要同时具有相对应的n型和p型材料 然而, 大多数I-V-VI2族化合物是本征p型半导体，对应的n型热电半导体较为缺乏。在本文中，我们通过固溶SnTe来增加AgBiTe2的构型熵, 从而在室温下获得稳定的立方相。随着热电性能的进一步优化，n型和p型 (AgBiTe2)1-x(SnTe)x (x = 0.3, 0.4)固溶体的热电性能可同时提高 最终, 名义组分为(AgBi0.99Cd0.01Te2)0.6(SnTe)0.4的p型固溶体和名义组分为(AgBiTe2)0.7(SnTe)0.3~Br 6%的n型固溶体在381和423 K时分别取得~0.33和~0.21的热电优值

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51772035 and 11874356), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2020CDJ-LHZZ-011) and Chongqing Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars (No. cx2019002). The authors would like to thank the Analytical and Testing Center of Chongqing University for the assistance with the sample characterization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Smart Materials, College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Ting Zhao, Xu Lu & Xiao-Yuan Zhou

  2. College of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Li-Ze Yang & Yun Zhou

  3. State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment & System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China

    Hui-Jun Liao, Zheng-Yong Huang, Jian Li & Xu Lu

  4. Analytical and Testing Center, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Xiao-Yuan Zhou

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  1. Ting Zhao
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Zhao, T., Yang, LZ., Zhou, Y. et al. Thermoelectric performance of (AgBiTe2)1-x(SnTe)x with stable cubic enabled by enhanced configurational entropy. Rare Met. 41, 4149–4155 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-022-02099-7

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