Alloying And Compositing Of Thermoelectric Materials In Ce-Pb-Sb-Te System

Over the past two decades, there have been significant advances in the performance of thermoelectric materials which can be incorporated into power generation devices to convert waste heat into useful electrical energy. This means that effectively we have the potential to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we make a study of alloying and compositing of several thermoelectric materials in Ce-Pb-Sb-Te system.Firstly, the high-performance thermoelectric materials in Pb-Te system and Sb-Te system have been studied. And the bulk binary semiconductors such as PbTe,δ-Sb2Te, Y-Sb2Te2and Sb2Te3have been prepared via mechanical alloying and high frequency smelting.Secondly, the high-performance thermoelectric materials in Pb-Sb-Te system have been studied. And the bulk ternary semiconductors such as δ -Sb2Te+PbTe, γ-Sb2Te2+PbTe and Sb2Te3+PbTe have been prepared via mechanical alloying. Moreover, nanostructures and layer structures have been found in the bulk thermoelectrics. These structures can increase phonon scattering rate and result in high thermoelectric performance which offers a realistic prospect of the recovery of a significant portion of waste heat.Lastly, the high-performance thermoelectric materials in Ce-Pb-Te system have been studied. And the bulk ternary semiconductors such as CeTe+PbTe and Ce3Te4+PbTe have been prepared via mechanical alloying and high frequency smelting. Moreover, nanostructures and layer structures have been found in the bulk thermoelectrics. These structures can increase phonon scattering rate and result in high thermoelectric performance which offers a realistic prospect of the recovery of a significant portion of waste heat.