Effect of Electric Current on the Performance of Bi_1.2Sb_4.8Te₉ Thermoelectric Material Prepared by a Field-Activated Pressure-Assisted Sintering Process

Authors: Chen, Ruixue¹; Meng, Qingsen²; Fan, Wenhao¹; Wang, Liqi¹; Wang, Zhong³

Source: Journal of Electronic Materials, Volume 40, Number 5, May 2011 , pp. 765-768(4)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Field-activated pressure-assisted sintering (FAPAS) was applied to sinter Bi_1.2Sb_4.8Te₉ thermoelectric materials under different conditions, including no-current sintering (NCS), low-density current sintering (LCS), and high-density current sintering (HCS). The effect of the current density on the final thermoelectric performance of the products was investigated. Applying a higher-density electric current and shorter dwell time can improve the thermoelectric performance of the sample by increasing its electric conductivity and decreasing its thermal conductivity. The maximum figure of merit ZT values of the NCS, LCS, and HCS samples were 0.46, 0.48, and 0.57, respectively. Therefore, applying a high-density electric current in the sintering process may be an effective way to obtain Bi_1.2Sb_4.8Te₉ thermoelectric material with high ZT value.

Keywords: Thermoelectric material; field-activated pressure-assisted sintering; Bi1.2Sb4.8Te9; electric current; current density

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11664-011-1563-7

Affiliations: 1: Department of Material Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China 2: Department of Material Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China, Email: mengqingsen@263.net 3: General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals, Beijing, 100022, China

Publication date: 2011-05-01