Effect of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Thermoelectric Properties of SnTe-Based Composites.

High-performance thermoelectric material, SnTe, has a good application prospect in thermoelectric power generation, but the low thermoelectric performance limits its application. There are many ways to improve the thermoelectric properties of materials, one of which is the composite method of heterogeneous materials. In this work, SnTe-based composites with different content (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5) wt% single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were prepared by ultrasonics, magnetic stirring, grinding, and hot pressing. The experimental results showed that the electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of the composites decreased with the increase of SWCNTs content. The thermoelectric properties of all the composites were improved. The thermoelectric properties of the composites might benefit from the high electrical conductivity of SWCNTs, and the increased phonon scattering at interfaces between the matrix and the SWCNTs. The figure-of-merit (ZT) of all the composites increased with the increase of temperature. At 523 K, SnTe + 1.5 wt% SWCNTs composite had the maximum ZT ~ 0.1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]