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Improvement in thermoelectric performance of In 6 Se 7 by substitution of Sn for In
Author(s) -
Cheng Min,
Chen Shaoping,
Du Zhengliang,
Liu Xianglian,
Cui Jiaolin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201600003
Subject(s) - thermoelectric effect , materials science , acceptor , substitution (logic) , work (physics) , thermoelectric materials , crystallography , condensed matter physics , chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , computer science , programming language
In this work we have observed a remarkable improvement in the thermoelectric (TE) performance of In 6– x Sn x Se 7 ( ZT = ∼0.28 at x = 0.1, 833 K) compared to that of pristine In 6 Se 7 ( ZT = 0.015 at 640 K). This improvement is mainly attributed to the creation of active donor defects Sn In 3+ as Sn(4+) is energetically favorable to In + sites. Although Sn (2+), which generates a defect Sn In − as an acceptor when it is incorporated into the In 3+ sites, has a negative effect on the transport properties, the counter effect from Sn(4+) and Sn(2+) suggests that In 6 Se 7 ‐based alloys are prospectively good thermoelectric candidates if their chemical compositions are well optimized.