Suppression of bipolar excitation and enhanced thermoelectric performance in n-type Bi2Te3 with argyrodite Ag8SnSe6 inclusion

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 12; no. 7; pp. 4221 - 4230
• Main Authors: Abubakar Yakubu Haruna, Luo, Yubo, Wang, Li, An, Min, Fu, Peichi, Li, Xin, Jiang, Qinghui, Yang, Junyou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 13.02.2024
• Subjects: Cooling; Excitation; Room temperature; Seebeck effect; Silver; Thermal conductivity; Thermoelectric materials; Tin
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d3ta07023a

In the ever-evolving landscape of electronic cooling technologies, thermoelectric materials have emerged as crucial contenders for efficient heat dissipation. Bi2Te3-based materials are the most outstanding for room temperature application. However, to achieve efficient heat dissipation, the properties of n-type Bi2Te3 need to be improved. This study introduces a novel approach utilizing argyrodite semiconductor Ag8SnSe6 (STSe) to enhance the thermoelectric properties of n-type Bi1.995Cu0.005Te2.69Se0.33Cl0.03. The sample 0.5 wt% STSe achieved a Seebeck coefficient of −193.57 μV K−1 at 353 K due to enhancement in the DOS effective mass caused by dissolved Ag and Sn. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the matrix is reduced by 21.19% to 0.74 W m−1 K−1 at 353 K, owing to AgBi and SnBi, dislocations and STSe nanoscale particles. Consequently, we achieved a room temperature ZT value of 1.17, a peak ZT value of 1.24 at 353 K, and an average ZT of 1.15 in the 300–500 K range due to suppression of bipolar excitation.