Thermoelectric and thermal stability improvements in Nano-Cu 2 Se included Ag 2 Se

Recently, silver chalcogenides have attracted great attention due to their potential application for room temperature power generation and local cooling. In this work, we report the thermoelectric properties and thermal stability of bulk Ag 2 Se with nano-Cu 2 Se inclusions ((Ag 2 Se) 1-x (Cu 2 Se) x where x = 0, 0.02 and 0.05). Ag 2 Se samples were prepared via melting, annealing and the nanocomposite was prepared by ball milling this material with required amount of nano-Cu 2 Se; finally, the samples were consolidated by spark plasma sintering. High temperature and low temperature transport properties were assessed by the measurements of the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and Hall coefficient. The phase composition and microstructure were explored by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, while the thermal stability of samples was investigated via heating microscopy and heat capacity measurement. Room temperature PXRD and SEM indicated that two separate phases of Ag 2 Se and Cu 2 Se form in nano-Cu 2 Se included composites. Heating microscopy and the heat capacity measurement indicate that the thermal stability of Ag 2 Se is enhanced with increasing nano-Cu 2 Se inclusions. The sign of the Seebeck coefficient, in agreement with the Hall coefficient, shows that electrons are the dominant carriers in all samples. The electrical conductivity of the samples increases and the Seebeck coefficient decreases with increasing amount of the nano-Cu 2 Se inclusion, likely due to augmented carrier concentration. Despite the larger electrical conductivity, the thermal conductivity is suppressed with nano-Cu 2 Se inclusions. A high power factor and reduced thermal conductivity lead to a maximum ZT value of 0.45 at 875 K for (Ag 2 Se) 1-x (nano-Cu 2 Se) x sample where x is 0.05.
QC 20190329