Ultralow Lattice Thermal Conductivity in SnTe by Incorporating InSb

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 12; no. 19; pp. 21863 - 21870
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jing-Wen, Wu, Zhen-Wang, Xiang, Bo, Zhou, Ning-Ning, Shi, Jia-Li, Zhang, Jiu-Xing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 13.05.2020
• Subjects: preserved high power factor; ultralow lattice thermal conductivity; (Sn1.06Te)1−x -(InSb) x; all-scale structure defects; thermoelectric material; (Sn1.06Te)1−x-(InSb)x
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c03315

Herein, a series of (Sn1.06Te)1–x-(InSb) x (x = 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075) samples are fabricated, and their thermoelectric performances are studied. The all-scale structure defects containing the atomic-scale In doping defects, the nanoscale Sb precipitates, and the mesoscale grain boundary scatter phonons collectively in a wide range of frequencies to give the ultralow lattice thermal conductivity. Concurrently, the incorporation of InSb decreases carrier concentration with marginal loss in carrier mobility, resulting in a little variation of electrical properties over a wide temperature range. The significantly decreased thermal conductivity and the preserved high power factor lead to a maximum ZT value of ∼0.84 at 823 K in the (Sn1.06Te)0.95(InSb)0.05 sample. This strategy of rapidly constructing all-scale structure defects could be applied to other thermoelectric systems to enhance thermoelectric performance.