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Self-healing boron-doped Sb2Se3 thermoelectric materials prepared using liquid metallic Ga–Sn alloys

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Abstract

Inorganic thermoelectric materials are typically brittle and unrecyclable. Among these inorganic thermoelectric materials, antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is a promising material for preparing topological insulators and photovoltaic devices. Sb2Se3 has a large Seebeck coefficient and extremely low electrical conductivity. To apply Sb2Se3 as a thermoelectric material, its electrical conductivity must be improved, and self-healing must be realized. In this study, we fabricated self-healing thermoelectric composites using liquid metals from Ga–Sn and Sb2Se3 thermoelectric materials. Sb2Se3 nanowires and nanosheets were fabricated through hydrothermal reactions. To improve the thermoelectric performance, the Sb2Se3 nanowire and nanosheet samples were doped with elemental boron. B-doping enhanced both carrier concentration and the carrier mobility, leading to improved electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. The composite material with the highest thermoelectric performance was identified by adjusting the ratio of Sb2Se3 nanowires to nanosheets. Subsequently, a liquid metal alloy Ga–Sn was prepared to achieve a melting point of 166 °C. Furthermore, a Ga–Sn and Sb2Se3 hybrid composite with a weight ratio of 5:5 was prepared through hot pressing at 130 °C (temperature lower than the melting point). The fabricated composite was cut into two pieces and heated to approximately 130 °C to induce self-healing. The cuts self-healed successfully, albeit with a certain loss of the Ga–Sn alloy. The electrical conductivity of the self-healed composites decreased slightly owing to the presence of voids and losses in the Ga–Sn liquid metal.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Human Resources Development (No. RS-2023-00244347) of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and also supported by the MSIT (Ministry of Science and ICT), Korea, under the ITRC (Information Technology Research Center) support program (IITP-2021-2020-0-01655) supervised by the IITP (Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea

    Minsu Kim, Dabin Park & Jooheon Kim

  2. Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, 17546, Republic of Korea

    Jooheon Kim

  3. Department of Intelligent Energy and Industry, Graduate School, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea

    Jooheon Kim

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  1. Minsu Kim
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MK performed conceptualization, investigation, writing—original draft, data curation, formal analysis, and methodology. DP did investigation, data curation, and formal analysis. Prof. JK done supervision and project administration.

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Correspondence to Jooheon Kim.

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Kim, M., Park, D. & Kim, J. Self-healing boron-doped Sb2Se3 thermoelectric materials prepared using liquid metallic Ga–Sn alloys. J Mater Sci 58, 9251–9263 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08593-2

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