The Synthesis And Morphology Control Of PbTe Nano-Thermoelectric Material

Thermoelectric(TE) material is a kind of novel functional material which can transfer thermal energy into electrical energy directly and vice versa. It can primarily be used in refrigeration and power generation. As an early studied TE material, PbTe has developed very well. It is widely applied in the mid-temperature range with a high thermoelectric properities and possesses a high value of thermoelectric figure of merit.In this paper, PbTe nano-thermoelectric material was synthesized by hydrothermal route. Through changing the reaction conditions, such as the type and concentration of surfactant,the Pb/Te ratio,the dosage of hydrazine hydrate,reaction temperature and reaction time, to study the influence on the morphology of PbTe nanoparticles and preliminary study the formation mechanism of PbTe.Several typical PbTe nano-particles, such as the cube and tetrakaidecahedron had been prepared. These PbTe nano-particles possesses a good size uniformity and morphology with a size of 50nm or so.In addition, PbTe bulk material was also prepared in this paper and its thermoelectric properties were characterized. From the measured values of electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity, the ZT value of PbTe bulk material was obtained, approaching 0.7 in 700K.