Synthesis and Characterization of Thermoelectric Material Bi2Te3—A Potential Alternative for Power Generation

In recent years, thermoelectric materials attained great attention due to their capability of solving the problem of increasing energy demand. In this work, nanostructured thermoelectric material Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3) powder was synthesized using the one-step hydrothermal method with pre-reaction ultra-sonication treatment in 10 h which is far less synthesis time than reported by other researchers. The structural characterizations of the product were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The optical characterizations of the product were studied using Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies, and the direct energy band gap was calculated by using the Tauc plot. Crystallite size, dislocation density, and lattice strain of synthesized powder were calculated by XRD analysis. Surface morphology was also studied using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and the elemental composition of synthesized Bi2Te3 was studied using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The synthesized Bi2Te3 can be used as potential thermoelectric material in a thermoelectric module for power generation and refrigeration applications.