Article

Review

Curr. Appl. Phys. 2024; 60: 15-31

Published online April 30, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cap.2024.01.007

Copyright © The Korean Physical Society.

Thermoelectric properties of extrinsic phase mixing in chalcogenide bulk nanocomposites

Rawat P.; Lee M.H.; Kumar A.; Thoravat S.; Rhyee J.S.

Department of Applied Physics and Institute of Natural Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi, Yong-In, 17104, South Korea

Abstract

In recent years, application of nanostructured thermoelectric materials got a significant research interest. Earlier nanostructure materials like superlattice or quantum dot are available as a thin film or in minute quantity, but current research on bulk nanostructured compound provides a large number of thermoelectric materials. The synthesis of bulk nanocomposite is an efficient way of lowering thermal conductivity for the enhancement of thermoelectric performance. In this review, we will discuss the concept of bulk nanocomposites by extrinsic phase mixing and how it can affect thermoelectric energy conversion. A structural phase transition near 420 K in Ag2Te raises the interface potential effect, which implies its dispersion in the Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3, and PbTe-based matrices. The enhancement of the thermoelectric properties also discussed by the charge-selective Anderson localization while preserving the extended electronic state. For nanostructure bulk composite a very high thermoelectric figure-of-merit, ZT > 2.0 has been achieved, suggesting this may be a versatile approach for power generation from waste heat. In this review, we emphasized the thermoelectric properties of extrinsic phase mixed bulk nanostructured composites and the future outlook of how the ZT value can be improved for these nanocomposites are also discussed. © 2024 Korean Physical Society

Keywords: Anderson localization, bulk composite, Figure of merit, Power factor, thermal conductivity

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