Abstract
Here we find the peculiar behavior of Cu ions in the PbSe-Cu system increases its thermoelectric performance. For the electrical transport, a dynamic doping effect is achieved because more Cu ions enter into the PbSe lattice and provide extra charge carriers as the temperature increases, which guarantees an optimized carrier concentration over a wide temperature range. For the thermal transport, the presence of Cu2Se nanoprecipitates and dislocations at a low temperature range as well as the vibration of Cu atoms around the interstitial sites of PbSe at high temperatures result in hierarchical phonon scattering and a significantly reduced lattice thermal conductivity over the whole temperature range. As a result, a peak thermoelectric material figure of merit zT of up to 1.45 and a thermoelectric device figure of merit ZT close to unity are obtained for the sample with 0.375 at% Cu. Furthermore, enhanced thermoelectric properties are also realized for the Cu-intercalated PbS, implying that the temperature-driven dynamic behavior of Cu ions in a rigid lattice can serve as a general strategy to optimize the thermoelectric performance of IV-VI compounds.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1848-1858 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Energy and Environmental Science |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2018 |
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51371194, 51772186, 51572167, 51632005, and 11674211), National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFB0701600), the 111 Project D16002, and the research grant (No. 16DZ2260601) from Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality. JY acknowledges support from the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning (No. TP2015041) and Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 16ZR1448000). W. Z. acknowledges the support from the Program of Shanghai Subject Chief Scientist (No. 16XD1401100). G. J. S. acknowledges S3TEC - EFRC funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, award number DE-SC0001299. We thank Prof. J. Q. He and Dr L. Xie for the in situ STEM characterization. J. L. thanks the fruitful discussion with Prof. J. H. Yang at University of Washington. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51371194, 51772186, 51572167, 51632005, and 11674211), National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFB0701600), the 111 Project D16002, and the research grant (No. 16DZ2260601) from Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality. JY acknowledges support from the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning (No. TP2015041) and Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 16ZR1448000). W. Z. acknowledges the support from the Program of Shanghai Subject Chief Scientist (No. 16XD1401100). G. J. S. acknowledges S3TEC – EFRC funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, award number DE-SC0001299. We thank Prof. J. Q. He and Dr L. Xie for the in situ STEM characterization. J. L. thanks the fruitful discussion with Prof. J. H. Yang at University of Washington.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Chemistry
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Nuclear Energy and Engineering
- Pollution
