Thermoelectric Transport Properties of Interface-Controlled p-type Bismuth Antimony Telluride Composites by Reduced Graphene Oxide

• Published in: Electronic materials letters Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 605 - 612
• Main Authors: Hwang, Ui Gyeong, Kim, Kyomin, Kim, Woochul, Shin, Weon Ho, Seo, Won-Seon, Lim, Young Soo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Institute of Metals and Materials 01-09-2019; Springer Nature B.V; 대한금속·재료학회
• Subjects: Antimony; Antimony telluride; Bismuth; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Electrical resistivity; Grain boundaries; Graphene; Materials Science; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Optical and Electronic Materials; Original Article - Energy and Sustainability; Plasma sintering; Seebeck effect; Spark plasma sintering; Thermal conductivity; Thermoelectric materials; Transport properties; 전자/정보통신공학; Interface control; Te; Thermoelectric; Reduced graphene oxide; Bi
• ISSN: 1738-8090; 2093-6788
• DOI: 10.1007/s13391-019-00118-x

We report the thermoelectric transport properties of interface-controlled
p
-type bismuth antimony telluride (BST) composites using reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The composites were prepared by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) of BST–graphene oxide (GO) hybrid powder, which could induce the in situ reduction of GO into rGO. Compared to the pristine BST, the interface-controlled BST composites exhibited degraded electrical conductivities with similar Seebeck coefficients, consequently resulting in decreased power factors. However, thanks to the suppressed lattice thermal conductivity by the rGO network at the grain boundaries, this disadvantage could be compensated in terms of
ZT.
Our results will be helpful for understanding thermoelectric transport properties of various graphene-hybrid thermoelectric materials.
Graphical Abstract