Development of Bismuth Telluride Nanostructure Pellet for Thermoelectric Applications

Abstract

The bismuth telluride Bi2 Te3 nanostructure powders and pellet was successfully developed for thermoelectric applications by using a simple chemical process. Several characterization tools such as X-ray diffraction XRD , scanning electron microscopy SEM , energy dispersive X-ray EDX , atomic force microscopy AFM and Fourier transform infrared FT-IR spectrometry were carried out. The XRD, SEM, EDX, and FTIR analyses showed that the chemical structure of pellet is Bi2 Te3 . The average crystalline size of the Bi2 Te3 pellet is found to be 3.93 nm, as determined by the SEM. The AFM studies confirmed that the pellet is of nanostructure form and average surface roughness value is 68.06 nm. This is within the roughness range which can lead to an enhancement in thermoelectric properties of Bi2 Te3 nanostructure. This could be evidenced by thermal conductivity which should be higher than the electrical conductivity

Keywords

• Bismuth telluride Bi2 Te3,Nanostructure pellet,Chemical process,Microstructural properties,Thermoelectric

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