Modulating Structures and Nanocomposites to Boost Thermoelectric Properties of Polycrystalline SnSe by Ag/In Co-doping
摘要
Polycrystalline SnSe with poor electrical and high thermal transport properties faces great challenges in commercialization, although monocrystalline SnSe boasts a high ZT value. To alleviate this problem, the Ag/In co-doped polycrystalline Sn1−2xAgxInxSe (x = 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) thermoelectric materials are proposed in this work by using vacuum melting/annealing/ball milling process. The co-doping of Ag and In atoms into polycrystalline SnSe matrix effectively modulates the electronic band structure near the Fermi level. At the same time, the introduced endotaxial nanostructure of AgInSe2 serves as an additional scattering center, effectively scattering lower-energy carriers. This scattering mechanism leads to a substantial increase in the Seebeck coefficient and a marked reduction in lattice thermal conductivity. Notably, the optimized Sn0.8Ag0.1In0.1Se sample exhibited a remarkably low lattice thermal conductivity of 0.29 W m−1 K−1 at 750 K, representing the competitive value reported thus far. The synergistic interplay between the Ag/In co-doping and the endotaxial nanostructure effectively decouples phonon and electron transport in polycrystalline SnSe, leading to a substantial enhancement in its TE performance, providing a novel strategy for the development of practical TE materials with superior performance.