High-Pressure Routes in the Thermoelectricity or How One Can Improve a Performance of Thermoelectrics

Abstract

High pressure has a strong impact on materials. In regards to thermoelectrics, pressure is able to significantly improve their thermoelectric (TE) performance (i.e., power factor and figure of merit), and for this reason, pressure is a powerful tool for energy conversion technologies. This paper reviews studies on thermoelectric properties of relevant materials (PbTe, PbSe, Bi 2 Te 3 , Sb 2 Te 3 , and others) under pressure. It is figured out that enhanced thermoelectric properties of lead telluride and bismuth telluride appear beyond a range of energy gaps proposed for a "conventional" thermoelectricity in narrow-gap semiconductors. An example given for SmTe hints that pressure effects on the thermoelectric performance may be tremendous. This review also attends studies on high-pressure thermoelectric properties in the presence of a nonzero magnetic field. Influence of magnetic-field-related effects, such as magnetoresistance, magnetothermopower (Nernst-Ettingshausen effects), and Maggi-Reghi-Leduc effect is analyzed on examples of PbTe, PbSe, and Te. Problems related to both in situ measurements of transport properties under pressure, and practical realization of highpressure (magneto-)thermoelectric devices are discussed. In summary, this review reports the-stateof-the-art of pressure influence on thermoelectric materials and shows alternative poorly explored routes in the thermoelectricity.

Transport properties of Ag0.8Pb18SbTe20 prepared by high pressure and high temperature

“…[14]. The electrical resistivity of Ag 0.8 Pb 18 SbTe 20 as a function of synthetic pressure from 2.0 to 5.0 GPa is shown in Fig.…”

“…Comparing to other preparation methods for thermoelectric materials, the method of HPHT has many advantages, such as restraining the disorder, phase separation and other complicating factors during the preparation for materials [14]. In our previous studies, PbTe and AgSbTe 2 have been successfully prepared by HPHT [14,15].…”

“…In our previous studies, PbTe and AgSbTe 2 have been successfully prepared by HPHT [14,15]. The resistivity was decreased and the power factor for these samples was improved effectively under the effect of high pressure.…”

Raman signatures of pressure induced electronic topological and structural transitions in Bi2Te3

“…Bismuth telluride (Bi 2 Te 3 ) has been shown to be one of the simplest three dimensional (3-D) topological insulators, [1,2] an extraordinary thermoelectric compound at ambient temperature [3][4][5] and a possible topological superconductor [6]. More recently, atomicallythin layers have also been isolated by mechanical exfoliation from bulk Bi 2 Te 3 in a "graphene-like" fashion for enhanced thermoelectric properties [7].…”

Thermoelectric properties of metallic antiperovskites AXD3 (A=Ge, Sn, Pb, Al, Zn, Ga; X=N, C; D=Ca, Fe, Co)

“…Over the past decade, there has been a keen interest in exploring efficient thermoelectric (TE) materials for power generation. [1] A sufficiently big quantity of heat is converted into useful energy in TE devices, which makes them a good source of green energy. [2] A key material parameter, related to efficiency is the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = σS 2 T/k, where σ is the electrical conductivity, S is the Seebeck coefficient, and k = k e + k l is the thermal conductivity, composed of electronic and lattice parts.…”