Thermoelectric properties of spark plasma sintered lead telluride nanocubes. Issue 17 (13th August 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Khasimsaheb, Bayikadi; Neeleshwar, Sonnathi; Srikanth, Mandava; Bathula, Sivaiah; Gahtori, Bhasker; Srivsatava, Avanish Kumar; Dhar, Ajay; Sankarakumar, Amirthapandian; Panigrahi, Binaya Kumar; Bhattacharya, Sriparna; Podila, Ramakrishna; Rao, Apparao M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials research. Volume 30:Issue 17(2015)
• Page Start: 2638
• Page End: 2648
• Publication Date: 2015-08-13
• Subjects: lead telluride nanocubes, -- precipitation method, -- electrical conductivity, -- Seebeck coefficient, -- thermoelectric comparability factor; Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; 620.1105
• DOI: 10.1557/jmr.2015.227
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0884-2914

Abstract

Abstract: Abstract : We report a cost-effective, surfactant-free, and scalable synthesis technique for lead telluride (PbTe) nanocubes by a chemical precipitation method. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies indicated the evolution of nucleation centers (spherical) into nanocubes with the addition of the Pb and Te atoms. The spark plasma sintered PbTe nanocubes exhibited an enhanced Seebeck coefficient, S > +400 µV, higher than the reported values of the bulk PbTe over an extended temperature range of 300–425 K, and a moderate electrical conductivity, σ ∼ 8000 S/m at 300 K. A significant reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity was observed due to effective phonon scattering from the presence of numerous interfaces introduced by nanostructuring. The resulting figure-of-merit ( ZT ) ∼ 0.45 at 300 K is higher than the reported values at this temperature in other PbTe nanostructures. Moreover, a moderate thermoelectric compatibility factor makes the PbTe nanocubes a potential candidate for green energy generation.