Thermoelectric transport properties of bismuth telluride bulk materials fabricated by ball milling and spark plasma sintering

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds Vol. 496; no. 1; pp. 687 - 690
• Main Authors: Kuo, Chia-Hung, Hwang, Chii-Shyang, Jeng, Ming-Shan, Su, Wei-Sheng, Chou, Ya-Wen, Ku, Jie-Ren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 30.04.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alloys; Ball milling; Bismuth telluride; Bismuth tellurides; Carrier density; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Conductivity phenomena in semiconductors and insulators; Electronic transport in condensed matter; Exact sciences and technology; Maximum power; Physics; Spark plasma sintering; Thermoelectric and thermomagnetic effects; Thermoelectric properties; Thermoelectricity; Transport properties; Ball milling; Spark plasma sintering; Bismuth telluride; Thermoelectric properties; Electrical conductivity; Ball mill; XRD; Attrition mill; Bismuth tellurides; Transmission electron microscopy; Thermoelectric power; Transport processes; Carrier density
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2010.02.171

Dense bismuth telluride (Bi 2Te 3) bulk materials with randomly packed grains were prepared using attrition milling and spark plasma sintering (SPS). Experimental results indicate that the high energy ball milling produces donor-like carriers in Bi 2Te 3 samples and enhances thermoelectric transport properties such as carrier concentration, electrical conductivity and power factor. The maximum power factor of 1 mW m −1 K −2 was obtained at 500 K for the 3 h-milled Bi 2Te 3 sample sintered at 573 K. Results of this study demonstrate that adequately controlling the milling time can enhance the thermoelectric performance of Bi 2Te 3 bulk materials without adding dopants.