One-step fabrication of a bulk SnTe thermoelectric material with excellent performance through self-propagating high-temperature synthesis under a high-gravity field

Abstract

Thermoelectric materials are attractive for the reversible conversion between thermal and electrical energy. The preparation of bulk thermoelectric materials usually involves multi-step processes with considerable time and energy consumption, which restricts their widespread application. We apply for the first time a fast and one-step method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) under a high-gravity field to SnTe-based thermoelectric materials. The thermoelectric properties have been investigated. The zT of the undoped SnTe sample reached 0.51 at 873 K, which is almost on par with those of other methods. The zT value increases to 0.82 at 873 K for the co-doped (Sn_0.6Ge_0.2Pb_0.2)_0.96Sb_0.04Te sample. Compared with the conventional synthesis methods, the SHS under a high-gravity field technique shortens the synthesis time from several days to dozens of seconds and offers a fast, one-step method for producing bulk SnTe-based thermoelectric materials, which is more time-saving and more energy efficient.