Thermoelectric Transport Properties of Cu Nanoprecipitates Embedded Bi2Te2.7Se0.3

• Main Authors: Eunsil Lee, Jin Il Kim, Soon-Mok Choi, Young Soo Lim, Won-Seon Seo, Jong-Young Kim, Kyu Hyoung Lee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
• Series: Journal of Nanomaterials
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/820893

We suggest a simple and scalable synthesis to prepare Cu-Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 (Cu-BTS) nanocomposites. By precipitating Cu nanoparticle (NP) in colloidal suspension of as-exfoliated BTS, homogeneous mixtures of Cu NP and BTS nanosheet were readily achieved, and then the sintered nanocomposites were fabricated by spark plasma sintering technique using the mixed powder as a raw material. The precipitated Cu NPs in the BTS matrix effectively generated nanograin (BTS) and heterointerface (Cu/BTS) structures. The maximum ZT of 0.90 at 400 K, which is 15% higher compared to that of pristine BTS, was obtained in 3 vol% Cu-BTS nanocomposite. The enhancement of ZT resulted from improved power factor by carrier filtering effect due to the Cu nanoprecipitates in the BTS matrix.