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• Angle of grain boundaries converts to low from high by electrostatic force. • Low energy of low-angle grain boundary scatters carrier but not phonon. • Pulse current treatment provides a method to get high power factor and power density. Current applications of thermoelectric (TE) materials are limited by their low conversion efficiency. Interfacial engineering is a common way to improve TE properties. This study employed a pulsed electric field to tune the grain interfacial structure of Bi 2 Te 3 films and thereby improve their power factor. The high-angle grain boundaries of the as-deposited films were transformed into low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) by the electrostatic force of a high pulse current density. The low interfacial energy of LAGBs maintains high carrier mobility while their reduced defects result in a low carrier concentration. These effects improve the Seebeck coefficient and conductivity simultaneously, with the power factor reaching 5394.77 μW·m−1·K−2 at 513 K. In addition, the compression stress generated by LAGBs enhances phonon scattering, creating a film with the highest power density yet reported (1.31 W·m−2). This provides a method for using PEF to improve the performance of TE materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn 4 Sb 3 has brought into sharp focus by its low cost and excellent thermoelectric (TE) properties in the medium temperature range. Zn atoms can diffuse in the Zn 4 Sb 3 matrix under the treatment of temperature or current. This provides a way to control its TE performance. In this study, the TE properties of the Zn 4 Sb 3 films were improved by the Zn atomic diffusion under the treatment of periodic pulsed electric field. The Zn atomic diffusion is caused by the electrostatic interaction of the pulsed electric field and the diffusion mode is related to the pulse period. When the pulse period is smaller than 10 s, the interstitial Zn atom diffuses first. The Zn vacancy increases, leading to the increase of the carrier concentration and the decrease of the resistivity. When the pulse period increases to 100 s, more Zn(1) atoms diffuse through the interstitial position, resulting in a small amount of ZnSb phase. Thereby in the Zn 4 Sb 3 films, the carrier concentration decreases and the Seebeck coefficient increases. This kind of the synergistic effect decreases the resistivity and increases the Seebeck coefficient. The power factor of the Zn 4 Sb 3 films treated with a pulse period of 100 s is more than 4500 μW m−1 K−2 in the range of 373 K–573 K. This study presents a new method to control atomic diffusion by periodic pulsed electric field, and the TE properties of the Zn 4 Sb 3 films are improved. • Pulsed electric field can control the diffusion of Zn atoms in Zn–Sb films. • The diffusion of interstitial Zn i atoms increased the carrier concentration in films. • The diffusion of Zn(1) atoms increased with the increase of pulse period. • The diffusion of Zn(1) atoms caused a small amount of the ZnSb phase. • The power factor of the film treated with the pulse period is 4901.31 μW m−1 K−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]