%0 Journal Article
%A Serrano Sánchez, F.
%A Gharsallah,  M.
%A Nemes, Norbert Marcel
%A Biskup Zaja, Nevenko
%A Varela Del Arco, María
%A Martínez, J. L.
%A Fernández Díaz, M. T.
%A Alonso, J. A.
%T Enhanced figure of merit in nanostructured (Bi,Sb)2Te3 with optimized composition, prepared by a straightforward arc-melting procedure
%D 2017
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91844
%X Sb-doped Bi2Te3 is known since the 1950s as the best thermoelectric material for near-room temperature operation. Improvements in material performance are expected from nanostructuring procedures. We present a straightforward and fast method to synthesize already nanostructured pellets that show an enhanced ZT due to a remarkably low thermal conductivity and unusually high Seebeck coefficient for a nominal composition optimized for arc-melting: Bi0.35Sb1.65Te3. We provide a detailed structural analysis of the Bi2−xSbxTe3 series (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) based on neutron powder diffraction as a function of composition and temperature that reveals the important role played by atomic vibrations. Arc-melting produces layered platelets with less than 50 nm-thick sheets. The low thermal conductivity is attributed to the phonon scattering at the grain boundaries of the nanosheets. This is a fast and cost-effective production method of highly efficient thermoelectric materials.
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