β-Zn₄Sb₃Nanocantilevers and Their Thermoelectric Properties

Abstract

Cantilever-like nanostructures of β-Zn 4 Sb 3 were firstly obtained from ZnO nanocantilevers and stibine using vapor deposition. The as-fabricated β-Zn 4 Sb 3 products are characterized by different instruments and morphologies and the size of the samples is strongly dependent on ZnO nanocantilevers because they act as a source and sacrificial template. A typical width and length of the as-synthesized β-Zn 4 Sb 3 nanocantilevers are ∼100 nm and ∼2 μm, respectively. The bulk β-Zn 4 Sb 3 composed of nanocantilevers was tested by independent measurements of thermoelectric properties, which was very good with a ZT value of 1.49 at 675 K-the best-which may originate from local properties of phonon and electron distribution.