Microstructural Manipulation for Enhanced Average Thermoelectric Performance: A Case Study of Tin Telluride

Xu, Xiao1,2; Cui, Juan3; Huang, Yi1; Xia, Junchao1,4; Xie, Lin1; He, Jiaqing1; Pan, Kefan1

2023-02-01

10.1021/acsami.2c22531

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces   Impact Factor & Quartile

1944-8244

1944-8252

Achieving a high average figure of merit in a low-cost/toxic compound, tin telluride (SnTe), is crucial for thermoelectric applications. Introducing gap-like structures into the rock-salt matrix once elucidated a large potential; however, the poor quantity and controllability of the planar defects become the drawbacks. Here, we demonstrate, by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, that dense planar cationic vacancies can be produced in Sb2Te3(Sn1-xGexTe)8 samples for the first time, leading to an effective targeted solution. On the basis of the optimized lattice matrix, a low room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity of similar to 0.7 W m-1 K-1 (25% of pristine SnTe) can be achieved. Additionally, the first-principles calculation result reveals that the value of density-of-state effective mass is increased after manipulating the local cation matrix, resulting in an outstanding power factor of similar to 2.5 mW m-1 K-2 at 723 K when x = 0.2. Eventually, a competitive maximum figure of merit ZTmax of similar to 1.3 at 723 K and an excellent average ZT value of similar to 0.78 at 323-773 K are simultaneously realized in Sb2Te3(Sn0.8Ge0.2Te)8. This pioneered study about manipulating gap-like structures and its effects on the transport properties of SnTe-based materials would also provide a promising alternative for pursuing other high ZTave compounds in the future.

SnTe gap-like structures Sb2Te3(SnTe)n thermoelectric properties ZT

SCI

English

First ; Corresponding

National Natural Science Foundation of China["11874194","11934007","12174176"] ; Science, Technology, and Innovation Committee Foundation of Shenzhen[JCYJ20200109141205978] ; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation[2021M691447]

Science & Technology - Other Topics ; Materials Science

Nanoscience & Nanotechnology ; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

WOS:000936504800001

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Web of Science

1.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Phys, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, Peoples R China
2.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Acad Adv Interdisciplinary Studies, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, Peoples R China
3.Inst Appl Phys & Computat Math, Lab Computat Phys, Beijing 100088, Peoples R China
4.Univ Macau, Inst Appl Phys & Mat Engn, Joint Key Lab, Minist Educ, Macau 999078, Peoples R China

Xu, Xiao,Cui, Juan,Huang, Yi,et al. Microstructural Manipulation for Enhanced Average Thermoelectric Performance: A Case Study of Tin Telluride[J]. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces,2023.

Xu, Xiao.,Cui, Juan.,Huang, Yi.,Xia, Junchao.,Xie, Lin.,...&Pan, Kefan.(2023).Microstructural Manipulation for Enhanced Average Thermoelectric Performance: A Case Study of Tin Telluride.ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Xu, Xiao,et al."Microstructural Manipulation for Enhanced Average Thermoelectric Performance: A Case Study of Tin Telluride".ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2023).