Shock-Wave Consolidation of Nanostructured Bismuth Telluride Powders

Nanostructured thermoelectric powders can be produced using a variety of techniques. However, it is very challenging to build a bulk material from these nanopowders without losing the nanostructure. In the present work, nanostructured powders of the bismuth telluride alloy system are obtained in kil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of electronic materials 2012-06, Vol.41 (6), p.1595-1600
Main Authors: Beck, Jan, Alvarado, Manuel, Nemir, David, Nowell, Mathew, Murr, Lawrence, Prasad, Narasimha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alloy systems
Bismuth tellurides
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Consolidation
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Electronics
Electronics and Microelectronics
Exact sciences and technology
Instrumentation
Materials Science
Methods of nanofabrication
Nanocomposites
Nanomaterials
Nanopowders
Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization
Nanostructure
Nanostructured materials
Optical and Electronic Materials
Physics
Scanning electron microscopy
Shock waves
Solid State Physics
Thermoelectricity
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Summary:Nanostructured thermoelectric powders can be produced using a variety of techniques. However, it is very challenging to build a bulk material from these nanopowders without losing the nanostructure. In the present work, nanostructured powders of the bismuth telluride alloy system are obtained in kilogram quantities via a gas atomization process. These powders are characterized using a variety of methods including scanning electron microscopy, transition electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction analysis. Then the powders are consolidated into a dense bulk material using a shock-wave consolidation technique whereby a nanopowder-containing tube is surrounded by explosives and then detonated. The resulting shock wave causes rapid fusing of the powders without the melt and subsequent grain growth of other techniques. We describe the test setup and consolidation results.
ISSN:0361-5235
1543-186X
DOI:10.1007/s11664-011-1878-4