Preparation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Cu2Se–SnSe Composite Materials

• Published in: Journal of electronic materials 2018-06, Vol.47 (6), p.3350-3357
• Main Authors: Peng, Zhi, He, Danqi, Mu, Xin, Zhou, Hongyu, Li, Cuncheng, Ma, Shifang, Ji, Pengxia, Hou, Weikang, Wei, Ping, Zhu, Wanting, Nie, Xiaolei, Zhao, Wenyu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Electronics and Microelectronics; Instrumentation; International Conference on Thermoelectrics 2017; Materials research; Materials Science; Microstructure; Optical and Electronic Materials; Phase composition; Plasma sintering; Power factor; Solid State Physics; Spark plasma sintering; Thermal conductivity; Thermoelectric materials; Topical Collection: International Conference on Thermoelectrics 2017
• ISSN: 0361-5235; 1543-186X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11664-018-6218-5

A series of p -type x Cu 2 Se–SnSe ( x  = 0%, 0.10%, 0.15%, 0.20%, and 0.25%) composite thermoelectric materials have been prepared by the combination of ultrasonic dispersion and spark plasma sintering methods. The effects of secondary phase Cu 2 Se on the phase composition, microstructure, and thermoelectric properties of the composites were investigated. Microstructure characterization and elemental maps indicated Cu 2 Se grains uniformly distributed on the boundaries of the matrix. Transport measurements demonstrated that enhancement of the power factor and reduction of the thermal conductivity can be realized simultaneously by optimizing the adding content of Cu 2 Se. The highest ZT value of 0.51 at 773 K was achieved for the sample with x  = 0.15%, increased by 24% compared with that of the SnSe matrix. These results demonstrate that optimizing the Cu 2 Se content can improve the thermoelectric performance of p -type SnSe polycrystalline materials.