Effect of high pressure sintering and annealing on microstructure and thermoelectric properties of nanocrystalline Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 doped with Gd

Bi2Te2.7Se0.3of high performance doped with Gd bulk materials was prepared by a high pressure(6.0 GPa) sintering(HPS) method at 593 K,633 K, 673 K and 693 K. The sample was then annealed for 36 h in a vacuum at 633 K. The phase composition, crystal structure and morphology of the sample were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The electric conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity aspects of the sample were measured from 298 K to 473 K. The results show that high pressure sintering and the doping with Gd has a great effect on the crystal structure and the thermoelectric properties of the samples. The samples are consisted of nanoparticles before and after annealing, and these nanostructures have good stability at high temperature. HPS together with annealing can improve the TE properties of the sample by decreasing the thermal conductivity of the sample with nanostructures. The maximum ZT value of 0.74 was obtained at 423 K for the sample, which was sintered at 673 K and then annealed at 633 K for 36 h. Compared with the zone melting sample, it was increased by 85% at423 K. Hence the temperature of the maximum of figure of merit was increased. The results can be applied to the field of thermoelectric power generation materials.