ZnTe alloying effect on enhanced thermoelectric properties of p-type PbTe

Abstract

We investigate the effect of ZnTe incorporation on PbTe to enhance thermoelectric performance. We report structural, microscopic, and spectroscopic characterizations, ab initio theoretical calculations, and thermoelectric transport properties of Pb0.985Na0.015Te-x% ZnTe (x = 0, 1, 2, 4). We find that the solid solubility limit of ZnTe in PbTe is less than 1 mol %. The introduction of 2% ZnTe in p-type Pb0.985Na0.015Te reduces the lattice thermal conductivity through the ZnTe precipitates at the microscale. Consequently, a maximum thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 1.73 at 700 K is achieved for the spark plasma-sintered Pb0.985Na0.015Te-2% ZnTe, which arises from a decreased lattice thermal conductivity of ∼0.69 W m-1 K-1 at ∼700 K in comparison with Pb0.985Na0.015Te. © 2017 American Chemical Society