Synthesis and thermoelectric properties of bismuth–antimony–tellurium-based nanopowders

Bismuth–antimony–tellurium-based nanopowders were fabricated by a chemical process in which dissolved Bi, Te and Sb salts were directly reduced in each element via surfactant-assistant polyol reducing agents. XRD patterns of the synthesized nanopowders showed that the formed phases correspond mainly to (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3 and Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3, respectively. The phases revealed that the three different elements were stably alloyed as ternary composition in one powder via the simple chemical route. The nanopowders were consolidated into bismuth telluride-based bulk materials that exhibited electrical resistivity above 5.6 × 10−5 Ωm, 150 μ V/K of the Seebeck coefficient and 0.7 W/mK of thermal conductivity at room temperature. These results showed that p-type thermoelectric nanopowders obtained from a simplified chemical process could be used in making thermoelectric materials towards high performances.