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Ultrahigh Thermoelectric Performance in Environmentally Friendly SnTe Achieved through Stress‐Induced Lotus‐Seedpod‐Like Grain Boundaries
Author(s) -
Guo Fengkai,
Cui Bo,
Li Chun,
Wang Yumei,
Cao Jian,
Zhang Xinghong,
Ren Zhifeng,
Cai Wei,
Sui Jiehe
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202101554
Subject(s) - materials science , thermoelectric effect , thermoelectric materials , environmentally friendly , recrystallization (geology) , composite material , grain boundary , phonon , condensed matter physics , thermal conductivity , nanotechnology , microstructure , thermodynamics , ecology , physics , biology , paleontology
In an effort to improve the thermoelectric performance of the environmentally friendly SnTe, here, a multilevel structure composed of “lotus‐seedpod‐like” grain boundaries, dense dislocations, and nanopores is innovatively constructed, which synergistically reduces the sound velocity and the phonon relaxation time, resulting in ultralow lattice thermal conductivity throughout a wide temperature range. An ultrahigh figure of merit, ZT , of ≈1.7 and an unprecedented average ZT of ≈1 from 300 to 873 K are obtained. In contrast to the common pore‐forming method of volatilization, the strategy of stress‐induced recrystallization and gas expansion cogenerating interfacial pores that is used here, is believed to be more widely applicable for many other materials, which opens up a new avenue for improving thermoelectric performance.