Giant Seebeck effect in Ge-doped SnSe

Thermoelectric materials may contribute in the near future as new alternative sources of sustainable energy. Unprecedented thermoelectric properties in p-type SnSe single crystals have been recently reported, accompanied by extremely low thermal conductivity in polycrystalline samples. In order to e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2016-06, Vol.6 (1), p.26774-26774, Article 26774
Main Authors: Gharsallah, M., Serrano-Sánchez, F., Nemes, N. M., Mompeán, F. J., Martínez, J. L., Fernández-Díaz, M. T., Elhalouani, F., Alonso, J. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/301/299/2736
639/638/298/917
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Science
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Summary:Thermoelectric materials may contribute in the near future as new alternative sources of sustainable energy. Unprecedented thermoelectric properties in p-type SnSe single crystals have been recently reported, accompanied by extremely low thermal conductivity in polycrystalline samples. In order to enhance thermoelectric efficiency through proper tuning of this material we report a full structural characterization and evaluation of the thermoelectric properties of novel Ge-doped SnSe prepared by a straightforward arc-melting method, which yields nanostructured polycrystalline samples. Ge does not dope the system in the sense of donating carriers, yet the electrical properties show a semiconductor behavior with resistivity values higher than that of the parent compound, as a consequence of nanostructuration, whereas the Seebeck coefficient is higher and thermal conductivity lower, favorable to a better ZT figure of merit.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep26774