Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot Pressing
In this study, γ-Al2O3 particles were dispersed in p-type Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 through mechanical alloying to form γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 composite powders. The composite powders were consolidated using vacuum hot pressing to produce nano- and microstructured composites. Thermoelectric (TE) measurements ind...
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MDPI AG
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/11/12323 |
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| author | Chung-Kwei Lin May-Show Chen Rong-Tan Huang Yu-Chun Cheng Pee-Yew Lee |
| author_facet | Chung-Kwei Lin May-Show Chen Rong-Tan Huang Yu-Chun Cheng Pee-Yew Lee |
| author_sort | Chung-Kwei Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study, γ-Al2O3 particles were dispersed in p-type Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 through mechanical alloying to form γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 composite powders. The composite powders were consolidated using vacuum hot pressing to produce nano- and microstructured composites. Thermoelectric (TE) measurements indicated that adding an optimal amount of γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles improves the TE performance of the fabricated composites. High TE performances with figure of merit (ZT) values as high as 1.22 and 1.21 were achieved at 373 and 398 K for samples containing 1 and 3 wt % γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles, respectively. These ZT values are higher than those of monolithic Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 samples. The ZT values of the fabricated samples at 298–423 K are 1.0–1.22; these ZT characteristics make γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 composites suitable for power generation applications because no other material with a similarly high ZT value has been reported at this temperature range. The achieved high ZT value may be attributable to the unique nano- and microstructures in which γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles are dispersed among the grain boundary or in the matrix grain, as revealed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The dispersed γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles thus increase phonon scattering sites and reduce thermal conductivity. The results indicated that the nano- and microstructured γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 alloy can serve as a high-performance material for application in TE devices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:31:55Z |
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| id | doaj.art-49bc0c28568c4f74a173d29f95b4a985 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:31:55Z |
| publishDate | 2015-11-01 |
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| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-49bc0c28568c4f74a173d29f95b4a9852022-12-22T03:59:20ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732015-11-01811125731258310.3390/en81112323en81112323Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot PressingChung-Kwei Lin0May-Show Chen1Rong-Tan Huang2Yu-Chun Cheng3Pee-Yew Lee4School of Dental Technology, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, TaiwanSchool of Oral Hygiene, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, TaiwanInstitute of Materials Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, TaiwanInstitute of Materials Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, TaiwanInstitute of Materials Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, TaiwanIn this study, γ-Al2O3 particles were dispersed in p-type Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 through mechanical alloying to form γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 composite powders. The composite powders were consolidated using vacuum hot pressing to produce nano- and microstructured composites. Thermoelectric (TE) measurements indicated that adding an optimal amount of γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles improves the TE performance of the fabricated composites. High TE performances with figure of merit (ZT) values as high as 1.22 and 1.21 were achieved at 373 and 398 K for samples containing 1 and 3 wt % γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles, respectively. These ZT values are higher than those of monolithic Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 samples. The ZT values of the fabricated samples at 298–423 K are 1.0–1.22; these ZT characteristics make γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 composites suitable for power generation applications because no other material with a similarly high ZT value has been reported at this temperature range. The achieved high ZT value may be attributable to the unique nano- and microstructures in which γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles are dispersed among the grain boundary or in the matrix grain, as revealed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The dispersed γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles thus increase phonon scattering sites and reduce thermal conductivity. The results indicated that the nano- and microstructured γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 alloy can serve as a high-performance material for application in TE devices.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/11/12323γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3thermoelectric materialmechanical alloyingnano/microstructurevacuum hot pressing |
| spellingShingle | Chung-Kwei Lin May-Show Chen Rong-Tan Huang Yu-Chun Cheng Pee-Yew Lee Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot Pressing Energies γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 thermoelectric material mechanical alloying nano/microstructure vacuum hot pressing |
| title | Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot Pressing |
| title_full | Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot Pressing |
| title_fullStr | Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot Pressing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot Pressing |
| title_short | Thermoelectric Properties of Alumina-Doped Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 Nanocomposites Prepared through Mechanical Alloying and Vacuum Hot Pressing |
| title_sort | thermoelectric properties of alumina doped bi0 4sb1 6te3 nanocomposites prepared through mechanical alloying and vacuum hot pressing |
| topic | γ-Al2O3/Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3 thermoelectric material mechanical alloying nano/microstructure vacuum hot pressing |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/11/12323 |
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