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Published on: May 17, 2024
Achieving High Thermoelectric Performance in Bi2(Te, Se)3 Thin Film with (00l)-Oriented by Incorporating
Zhuang-Hao Zheng1, Ning Chen1, Zi-Long Zhang1
1Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518060, China.
Abstract:
Flexible thermoelectric (TE) generators have received great attention as a sustainable and reliable option to convert heat from the human body and other ambient sources into electricity. This study provides a synthesis route that involves thermally induced diffusion to introduce Te and Se into Bi, fabricating an n-type Bi-Te-Se flexible thin film on a flexible substrate. This specific synthesis alters the crystal orientation (00l) of the thin film, improving in-plane electrical transportation and optimizing carrier concentration. Consequently, BiTeSe0.42 enhanced both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, achieving a power factor of 17.1 μW cm-1 K-2 at room temperature. The TE device assembled with p-type Sb2Te3 exhibited exceptional flexibility with only a 26.2% change in resistance after 1000 times of bending at a radius of about 6 mm. The resistance change was further reduced to 7.5% after the application of a vinyl laurate coating. The fabricated TE device generated an ultrahigh output power of 792 nW with a temperature difference of 30 K.

