Low-Temperature Transport Coefficients of Nanostructured Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3-Based Thermoelectric Materials Obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering

• Published in: Journal of electronic materials 2015-06, Vol.44 (6), p.1846-1850
• Main Authors: Bulat, L. P., Drabkin, I. A., Osvenskii, V. B., Parkhomenko, Yu. N., Pshenay-Severin, D. A., Sorokin, A. I., Igonina, A. A., Bublik, V. T., Lavrentev, M. G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electronics and Microelectronics; Instrumentation; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Solid State Physics
• ISSN: 0361-5235; 1543-186X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11664-014-3570-y

The temperature dependences of the electrical conductivity and Hall coefficient of spark-plasma-sintered nanostructured thermoelectric materials based on p -Bi 0.4 Sb 1.6 Te 3 solid solution were measured in the range of 15 K to 300 K for a set of samples sintered at different temperatures from 300°C to 550°C. These data allow estimation of the mean free path of holes. Analysis of the transport coefficients together with information on the size and internal structure of the nanocrystalline grains indicates the important role of point defects in hole scattering, being more intensive for samples obtained at lower sintering temperature. The possible nature of the defects is discussed based on the transport and structural data.