Enhanced thermoelectric performance in spark plasma textured bulk n-type BiTe2.7Se0.3 and p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3

摘要

Bulk p and n-type bismuth tellurides were prepared using spark plasma texturization method. The texture development along the uniaxial load in the 001 direction is confirmed from both x-ray diffraction analysis and electron backscattering diffraction measurements. Interestingly, those textured samples outperform the samples prepared by conventional spark plasma sintering (SPS) leading to a reduced thermal conductivity in the ab-plane. The textured samples of n-type BiTe2.7Se0.3 and p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 showed a 42% and 33% enhancement in figure of merit at room temperature, respectively, as compared to their SPS counterparts, opening the route for applications.