Serrano Sánchez, F.Gharsallah, M.Nemes, Norbert MarcelBiskup Zaja, NevenkoVarela Del Arco, MaríaMartínez, J. L.Fernández Díaz, M. T.Alonso, J. A.2024-01-082024-01-082017-07-24Serrano-Sánchez, F., Gharsallah, M., Nemes, N.M. et al. Enhanced figure of merit in nanostructured (Bi,Sb)2Te3 with optimized composition, prepared by a straightforward arc-melting procedure. Sci Rep 7, 6277 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05428-410.1038/s41598-017-05428-4https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91844Sb-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.engAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/journal article2045-2322https//doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05428-4https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05428-4open access536Termodinámica2213 Termodinámica