Synergistically enhanced thermoelectric performance by optimizing the composite ratio between hydrothermal Sb2Se3 and self-assembled β-Cu2Se nanowires†
Abstract
Hydrothermal reactions and water-evaporation-induced self-assembly were employed to synthesize Sb2Se3 and β-Cu2Se nanowires, respectively, with diameters of 100–200 nm and lengths of 2–3 μm. The resulting nanowires were subsequently characterized using XRD, XPS, FE-SEM, FE-TEM, and EDS elemental mapping to determine their physical, morphological, and chemical properties. Sb2Se3 nanowires exhibited low electrical conductivities and high Seebeck coefficients, whereas β-Cu2Se nanowires had high electrical conductivities and low Seebeck coefficients. Increasing the β-Cu2Se content in the mixtures containing Sb2Se3 and β-Cu2Se nanowires concomitantly enhanced the electrical conductivities but lowered the Seebeck coefficients. The nanowire sample with 30% β-Cu2Se and 70% Sb2Se3 exhibited maximal power factor and figure merit values of 389.19 μW m−1 K2 and 0.288, respectively, at 473 K.
- This article is part of the themed collection: Nanomaterials