• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.245-251
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• 1998

Bi-doped n-type PbTe thermoeletric materials were fabricated by mechanical alloying and hot pressing. The intering characteristics and thermoelectric properties of the hot- pressed PbTe were characterized and compared with the properties of the specimens prepared by meltingigrinding method. The hot-pressed PbTe specimens fabricated by mechanical alloying exhibited more negative Seebeck coefficient, higher electrical resistivity and lower thermal conductivity. compared to ones prepared by meltingigrinding. The maximum figure-of-merit increased and the temperature for the maximum figure-of-merit shifted to lower temperature for the specimens fabricated by mechanical alloying. When hot pressed at $650^{\circ}C$, 0.3 wt% Bi-doped PbTe fabricated by mechanical alloying and meltingjgrinding exhibited maximum figure-of-merits of $1.33\times10^{-3}/K$ at $200^{\circ}C$ and $1.07\times10^{-3}/K$ at $400^{\circ}C$ respectively.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.435-438
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• 2005

Single phase $Zn_4Sb_3$ with $98.5\%$ of theoretical density was successfully produced by direct hot pressing of elemental powders containing $1.2 at\%$ excess Zn for compensating the evaporation during the process. Temperature dependences of thermoelectric properties were investigated from 4 K to 300 K. Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity as well as thermoelectric figure of merit showed the discontinuity in variation at 242K, indicating the $\alpha-\beta$, phase transformation. Interestingly, it was found that lattice thermal conductivity by phonons is dominant in total thermal conductivity of $\alpha-\beta$. Therefore, it is expected that thermoelectric properties can be improved by reduction of lattice thermal conductivity inducing lattice scattering centers by doping and solid solution.

• Ceramist
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.133-145
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• 2019

Thermoelectric energy conversion has attracted much attention because it can convert heat into electric power directly through solid state device and vice versa. Current research is aimed at increasing the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT ) by improving the power factor and reducing the thermal conductivity. Although there have been significant progresses in increasing ZT of material systems composed of Bi, Te, Ge, Pb, and etc. over the last few decades, their relatively high cost, toxicity, and the scarcity have hindered further development of thermoelectrics to expand practical applications. In this paper, we review the current status of research in the fields of nanostructured thermoelectric materials with eco-friendly and low cost elements, such as skutterudites and oxides, for mid-high temperature applications, highlighting the strategies to improve thermoelectric performance.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.287-292
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• 2022

Magnesium-antimonide is a well-known zintl phase thermoelectric material with low band gap energy, earth-abundance and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass properties. The nominal composition Mg_3.8-xZn_xSb₂ (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.02) was synthesized by controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. To investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were carried out. It should be noted that an additional 16 at. % Mg must be added to the system to compensate for Mg loss during the melting process. This study evaluated the thermoelectric properties of the material in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity from the low to high temperature regime. The results demonstrated that substituting Zn at Mg sites increased electrical conductivity without significantly affecting the Seebeck coefficient. The maximal dimensionless figure of merit achieved was 0.30 for x = 0.01 at 855 K which is 30% greater than the intrinsic value. Electronic flow properties were also evaluated and discussed to explain the carrier transport mechanism involved in the thermoelectric properties of this alloy system.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.105-109
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• 2017

The effect of temperature and vanadium metal concentration on the electronic and thermoelectric properties of Si in the diamond cubic structure has been investigated using a combination of density functional theory simulations and the semi classical Boltzmann's theory. The BotzTrap code within the constant relaxation time approximation has been used to obtain the Seebeck coefficient and other transport properties of interest for alloys of the structure $Si_{1-x}V_x$, where x is 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.375, and 0.5. The thermoelectric properties have been extracted for a temperature range of 300 K to 1,000 K. The general trend with V atom substitution for Si causes the Seeback coefficient to increase and the thermal conductivity to decrease for the various alloys. The optimum values are for $Si_5V_3$ and $Si_4V_4$ alloys for charge carrier concentrations of $10^{21}cm^{-3}$ in the mid temperature range of 500~800 K. This is a very desirable effect for a promising thermoelectric and the figure of merit ZT approaches 0.2 at 600 K for the p-type $Si_5V_3$ alloy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.957-958
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• 2006

Fe doped skutterudite $CoSb_3$ with a nominal composition of $Fe_xCo_{1-x}Sb_{12}(0{\leq}x{\leq}2.5)$ have been synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) of elemental powders, followed by vacuum hot pressing. Phase transformations during mechanical alloying and vacuum hot pressing were systematically investigated using XRD. Single phase skutterudite was successfully produced by vacuum hot pressing using as-milled powders without subsequent annealing. However, second phase of $FeSb_2$ was found to exist in case of $x\geq2$, suggesting the solubility limit of Fe with Co in this system. Thermoelectric properties as functions of temperature and Fe contents were evaluated for the hot pressed specimens. Fe doping up to x=1.5 with Co in $Fe_xCo_{4-x}Sb_{12}$ appeared to increase thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) and the maximum ZT was found to be 0.78 at 525K in this study.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.384-389
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• 2018

Nanoparticles of PbTe are prepared via chemical reaction of the equimolar aqueous solutions of $Pb(CH_3COO)_2$ and Te at $120^{\circ}C$. The size of the obtained particles is 100 nm after calcination in a hydrogen atmosphere. Dense specimens for the thermoelectric characterization are produced by spark plasma sintering of prepared powders at $400^{\circ}C$ to $500^{\circ}C$ under 80 MPa for 5 min. The relative densities of the prepared specimens reach approximately 97% and are identified as cubic based on X-ray diffraction analyses. The thermoelectric properties are evaluated between $100^{\circ}C$ and $300^{\circ}C$ via electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. Compared with PbTe ingot, the reduction of the thermal conductivities by more than 30% is verified via phonon scattering at the grain boundaries, which thus contributes to the increase in the figure of merit.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.246-252
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• 1996

$Bi_{2}Te_{3}-Sb_{2}Te_{3}$, $Bi_{2}Te_{3}-Bi_{2}Se_{3}$ solid solutions are of great interest as materials for thermoelectric energy conversion. One of the key technologies to ensure the efficiency of thermoelectric device is to obtain chemically homogeneous solid solutions. In this work, the new process with rapid solidification followed by hot pressing was investigated to produce homogeneous thermoelectric materials. Characteristics of the materials were examined with XRD, SEM, EPMA-line scan and bending test. Property variations of the materials were investigated as a function of variables, such as excess Te quantity and hot pressing temperature. Quenched ribbons are very brittle and consisted of homogeneous $Bi_{2}Te_{3}$, $Sb_{2}Te_{3}$ solid solutions. When the process parameters were optimized, the maximum figure of merit was 3.073$\times$$10^{-3}K^{-4}$. The bending strength of the material, hot pressed at 45$0^{\circ}C$, was 5.87 kgf/${mm}^2$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.377-381
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• 2006

Skutterudite $CoSb_3$ doped with nickel was prepared by encapsulated induction melting, and its doping effects on thermoelectric properties were investigated. Single phase ${\delta}-CoSb_3$ was successfully obtained by encapsulated induction melting and subsequent heat treatment at 773 K for 24 h. Nickel atoms acted as electron donors by substituting cobalt atoms. Thermoelectric properties were remarkably improved by appropriate heat treatment and doping, and they were closely related to phase transitions and dopant activation. The maximum ZT(dimensionless figure of merit) was achieved as 0.2 at 600 K for the $Co_{0.93}Ni_{0.07}Sb_3$ specimen.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.130-139
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• 2023

Thermoelectric materials and devices are energy-harvesting devices that can effectively recycle waste heat into electricity. Thermoelectric power generation is widely used in factories, engines, and even in human bodies as they continuously generate heat. However, thermoelectric elements exhibit poor performance and low energy efficiency; research is being conducted to find new materials or improve the thermoelectric performance of existing materials, that is, by ensuring a high figure-of-merit (zT) value. For increasing zT, higher σ (electrical conductivity) and S (Seebeck coefficient) and a lower κ (thermal conductivity) are required. Here, interface engineering by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to increase zT of n-type BiTeSe (BTS) thermoelectric powders. ALD of the BTS powders is performed in a rotary-type ALD reactor, and 40 to 100 ALD cycles of ZnO thin films are conducted at 100℃. The physical and chemical properties and thermoelectric performance of the ALD-coated BTS powders and pellets are characterized. It is revealed that electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity are decoupled, and thus, zT of ALD-coated BTS pellets is increased by more than 60% compared to that of the uncoated BTS pellets. This result can be utilized in a novel method for improving the thermoelectric efficiency in materials processing.