POWER FACTOR OF Bi2Te3 AND Sb2Te3 ENHANCED BY HIGH DENSITY AND HARDNESS

Abstract

The power factor is an indicator of the performance of thermoelectric materials. Many researchers improved the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of materials by various techniques such as doping, substitution, and decreasing particle size for dense samples. We present Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 materials prepared by hot pressing method at 673 K for 2 h in Ar atmosphere. Bulk samples were investigated for their crystalline structure, hardness, and power factor by XRD, micro-Vickers hardness, and ZEM-3, respectively. The Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and power factor of n- Bi2Te3 and p- Bi2Te3 bulk samples were higher than literature data in the same temperature range of 325 to 475 K. The higher power factor value of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Te3 bulk samples of this study have resulted from the high density and high micro-Vickers hardness of the samples.