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Coupling of band shift and phase transition for enhanced electrical conductivity in p-type metallic CuS towards mid-temperature thermoelectric application

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Abstract

Multiphase chalcogenides are highly interested candidate in thermoelectric application due to their unique band structure, which enhances electrical conductivity. Even though copper sulfide is a widely reported material for thermoelectrics, there have been no reports addressing its various densification methods to study thermoelectric behavior. This report represents the first promising study aimed at investigating the thermoelectric properties of copper sulfide using different densification methods. Herein, we prepared a multiphase (Cu1.96S + CuS) sample using the hydrothermal method followed by the hot press technique and compared its thermoelectric properties with single-phase (Cu1.81S) sample prepared by the cold press method. XRD confirms the formation of multiphase (Cu1.96S + CuS), and TG/DTA shows the phase transition temperature at which the hot press has been carried out. The multiphase sample exhibits a maximum electrical conductivity of 180 Scm−1 at 653 K, which represents a 55% improvement compared to the single-phase sample. This enhancement is a consequence of the high carrier concentration within the mixed phases, resulting in a gradual shift of the valence band towards the Fermi level (EF). Notably, the multiphase sample has exhibited lower thermal conductivity than the single-phase sample, mainly due to the interface phonon scattering. Consequently, the zT value of the multiphase sample has increased to 0.5 at 753 K. The results of our study highlight the effectiveness of a simple hot-press technique process in enhancing the performance of thermoelectric materials. This discovery presents a practical and efficient approach for significantly enhancing the thermoelectric properties.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanotechnology Research Center (NRC), Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu, Kattankulathur, 603203, India

    M. Arockia Jenisha, C. Kanagaraj, E. Senthil Kumar & M. Navaneethan

  2. Functional Materials and Energy Devices Laboratory, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu, Kattankulathur, 603203, India

    M. Arockia Jenisha, S. Kavirajan, S. Harish, J. Archana & M. Navaneethan

  3. Research Institute of Electronics, Shizuoka University, 3-5-1 Johoku, Naka-Ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 432-8011, Japan

    N. Wakiya

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  1. M. Arockia Jenisha
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Jenisha, M.A., Kavirajan, S., Harish, S. et al. Coupling of band shift and phase transition for enhanced electrical conductivity in p-type metallic CuS towards mid-temperature thermoelectric application. emergent mater. 7, 171–186 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-023-00597-7

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