Ultra-Low Thermal Conductivity and Improved Thermoelectric Performance in Tungsten-Doped GeTe

Abstract

Compared to SnTe and PbTe base materials, the GeTe matrix exhibits a relatively high Seebeck coefficient and power factor but has garnered significant attention due to its poor thermal transport performance and environmental characteristics. As a typical p-type IV–VI group thermoelectric material, W-doped GeTe material can bring additional enhancement to thermoelectric performance. In this study, the introduction of W, Ge1−xWxTe (x = 0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.007, 0.01, 0.03) resulted in the presence of high-valence state atoms, providing additional charge carriers, thereby elevating the material’s power factor to a maximum PFpeak of approximately 43 μW cm−1 K−2, while slightly optimizing the Seebeck coefficient of the solid solution. Moreover, W doping can induce defects and promote slight rhombohedral distortion in the crystal structure of GeTe, further reducing the lattice thermal conductivity κlat to as low as approximately 0.14 W m−1 K−1 (x = 0.002 at 673 K), optimizing it to approximately 85% compared to the GeTe matrix. This led to the formation of a p-type multicomponent composite thermoelectric material with ultra-low thermal conductivity. Ultimately, W doping achieves the comprehensive enhancement of the thermoelectric performance of GeTe base materials, with the peak ZT value of sample Ge0.995W0.005Te reaching approximately 0.99 at 673 K, and the average ZT optimized to 0.76 in the high-temperature range of 573–723 K, representing an increase of approximately 17% compared to pristine GeTe within the same temperature range.