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Natural Microstructure and Thermoelectric Performance of (GeTe)80(Ag y Sb2−y Te3−y )20

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Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) materials (GeTe)80(Ag y Sb2−y Te3−y )20 (y = 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, and 1.4) were prepared, and their TE properties and microstructure studied in this work. Due to their relatively low thermal conductivity and proper carrier concentration, high ZT values were obtained for all samples except for y = 1.4. Using transmission electron microscopy, twins, antiphase domains, and low-angle grain boundaries were observed throughout the sample with y = 1.2. Nanoscale regions with double atomic spacing were detected. These regions and the matrix were coherent without obvious mismatch. The relationship between high ZT values and microstructure is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support from the National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB607502) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (5731006 and 50522203) are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    S. H. Yang, T. J. Zhu, S. N. Zhang, J. J. Shen & X. B. Zhao

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  1. S. H. Yang
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  2. T. J. Zhu
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  3. S. N. Zhang
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  4. J. J. Shen
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  5. X. B. Zhao
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Correspondence to X. B. Zhao.

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Yang, S.H., Zhu, T.J., Zhang, S.N. et al. Natural Microstructure and Thermoelectric Performance of (GeTe)80(Ag y Sb2−y Te3−y )20 . J. Electron. Mater. 39, 2127–2131 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0993-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0993-y

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