Thermoelectric properties of the hot-pressed Bi(2)(Te,Se)(3) alloys with the Bi(2)Se(3) content and addition of scattering center

Abstract

Thermoelectric properties of the hot-pressed Bi(2)(Te(1-x)Se(x))(3) alloys, prepared by melting/grinding and mechanical alloying, were investigated with the Bi(2)Se(3) content. Whereas a p-n transition occurred at about 30 mol% Bi(2)Se(3) in Bi(2)(Te(1-x)Se(x))(3) single crystals, the hot-pressed specimens exhibited n-type conduction for all compositions of 0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 1. Among the hot-pressed specimens, a maximum figure-of-merit of 1.92x10(-3)/K was obtained with the Bi(2)(Te(0.85)Se(0.15))(3) composition. Thermoelectric properties of the mechanically-alloyed and hot-pressed Bi(2)(Te(0.85)Se(0.15))(3) were also investigated with addition of BN powders as scattering centers.