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Hot pressing represents a promising consolidation technique for ball-milled bismuth telluride alloys, yet deep investigations are needed to understand its effect on the thermoelectric properties. This paper studies the effect of hot-pressing parameters (temperature and pressure) on the thermoelectric properties of the n-type Gr-Bi2Te2.55Se0.45 nanocomposite. Ultra-high pressure, up to 1.5 GPa, is considered for the first time for consolidating Bi2(Te,Se)3 alloys. Results from this study show that increasing the temperature leads to changes in chemical composition and causes noticeable grain growth. On the contrary, increasing pressure mainly causes improvements in densification. Overall, increments in these two parameters improve the ZT values, with the temperature parameter having a higher influence. The highest ZT of 0.69 at 160 °C was obtained for the sample hot-pressed at 350 °C and 1 GPa for 5 min, which is indeed an excellent and competitive value when compared with results reported for this n-type Bi2Te2.55Se0.45 composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Nanofiller dimensionality governs the thermoelectric properties of Bi 2 Te 3 composites. • The ZT enhancement of these composites is mostly preeminent to 2D nanofillers. • Superior thermoelectric properties are attained using doped Bi 2 Te 3 matrixes. This review paper summarizes and discusses the effect of nanosized fillers on bismuth telluride nanocomposites for thermoelectric applications. Classified into various dimensions based on electron confinement in space, the nanofiller effect on the figure-of-merit value is studied. By combining experimental data with theoretical models, the mechanisms for enhancing the thermoelectric properties were proposed. The outcomes of this review paper suggest that doped bismuth telluride composites (doped with selenium for n-type or antinomy for p-type) offer better thermoelectric properties compared to undoped composites. Moreover, improvements in undoped bismuth telluride composites are exclusive for the n-type only. The figure-of-merit value for bismuth telluride composites is less than two, where the 2D nanofillers show optimum ZT improvements. Nevertheless, the inconsistency of reported data in the thermoelectric area is a problem that must be addressed to have more control over the precision of the reported results for a better understanding of the concepts in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Different milling times affected the structural defects in graphene and its distribution in the n-type Bi 2 Te 2.7 Se 0.3 matrix. • Long milling time induced higher levels of structural defects in graphene and reduced the composite's electrical conductivity • Ten minutes of mechanical milling was the optimum time to enhance the thermoelectric properties of the composite. • The improved ZT is attributed to the low level of structural defects and reduced agglomeration of graphene in the composite. This study examines the effects of the structural integrity of graphene on the thermoelectric properties of n-type bismuth telluride alloy. Graphene/Bi 2 Te 2.7 Se 0.3 composites were prepared via mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering techniques. Different graphene concentrations (0.05 and 0.5 wt%) and addition times (20 hrs, 10 mins, and 1 min) were considered. The thermoelectric properties were measured, and the results showed that the milling time affects graphene structure as well as its agglomeration. It is revealed that the optimum time to add the two-dimensional filler is during the last phase of mechanical milling as it will preserve graphene's structure and boost the electrical conductivity. It is also shown that as the milling time of graphene increases, the Seebeck coefficient improves. Even though an increase in the thermal conductivity is expected due to the high electrical conductivity, a clear reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity part was obtained due to the increased scattering at the new interfaces. The figure-of-merit for the optimum sample with 0.05 wt% graphene added in the last 10 mins of milling had an improvement of 19% at room temperature reaching a value of 0.5, and 25% at 160 °C achieving a final value of 0.81. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous efforts have been made to understand and enhance the thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride alloys. However, limited studies have been reported to investigate the corrosion behavior of these alloys and their suitability for industrial applications. This paper examines the corrosion behavior of three different bismuth telluride alloys prepared by induction melting: pristine Bi 2 Te 3 , n-type Bi 2 Te 2.55 Se 0.45 , and p-type Bi 0.6 Sb 1.4 Te 3. The electrochemical response of the samples is tested in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution at room temperature. Potentiodynamic polarization curves (Tafel plots) revealed that the n-type sample formed a passive layer compared to the pristine and the p-type samples, which showed pitting corrosion. The different trends observed in the samples were related to their evolved microstructures, where fingerprint-like features in the pristine and the p-type samples showed high susceptibility to pitting corrosion. In contrast, a unique needle-like microstructure of the n-type samples acted as nucleation sites for passive layer formation causing higher corrosion resistance in this sample. • Electrochemical response of undoped and doped Bi 2 Te 3 produced by induction melting was studied in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. • The electrochemical response significantly depends on the microstructural features of the Bi 2 Te 3 alloys. • Fingerprint-like features in undoped Bi 2 Te 3 and Sb-doped alloys showed high susceptibility to pitting corrosion. • The needle-like microstructure of the Se-doped Bi 2 Te 3 acted as nucleation sites for passive layer formation, causing high corrosion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]