Investigation of the Microstructure and Thermoelectric Properties of P-Type BiSbTe Alloys by Usage of Different Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) During Mechanical Milling

Abstract

In this work, p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 alloys were fabricated by high-energy ball milling (MA) and spark plasma sintering. Different revolutions per minute (RPM)s were used in the MA process, and their effect on microstructure, and thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 were systematically investigated. The crystal structure of milled powders and sintered samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction. All the powders exhibited the same morphology albeit with slight differences find at 1100 RPM conditions. A slight grain size refinement was observed on the fracture surfaces from 500 to 1100 RPM specimens. The temperature dependence of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and power factors were measured as a function of temperature with different RPM conditions. The power factor shows almost same (~3.5 W/mK2 at RT) for all samples due to unchanged Seebeck and electrical conductivity values. The peak ZT of 1.07 at 375K is obtained for 1100 RPM specimen due to low thermal conductivity.

Keywords

• Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 alloys
• Mechanical alloying
• Spark plasma sintering
• Thermoelectric properties