Synthesis and thermoelectric properties of polycrystalline Bi-Sb alloys.

Abstract

We have studied the behavior of thermoelectric properties of Bi0.88Sb0.12 polycrystalline samples grown by solid state reaction method. The electrical and thermal properties of the samples were obtained by Seebeck coefficient S(T), electrical resistivity p(T) and thermal conductivity k(T) measurements as a function of temperature, in the temperature range between 77 and 300K. From S(T), p(T) and k(T) data it was possible to determine the thermoelectric power factor PF and the dimensionless figure of merit ZT, which reach maximum values close to 20 uW/K2 - cm and 0.35, respectively. Additionally, the structural and morphological properties of the samples were studied by power x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively.

Keywords

• Thermoelectric materials
• Transport properties
• Bi-Sb Compounds
• Figure of merit.