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Effects of second phases on thermoelectric properties in copper sulfides with Sn addition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2017

Peng Qin ,
Zhen-Hua Ge  and
Jing Feng
Peng Qin
Affiliation:
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China
Zhen-Hua Ge*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China
Jing Feng
Affiliation:
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The Cu–S compounds have been reported as promising thermoelectric materials with abundant element composition, low price, and low toxicity. In this work, Sn x Cu1.8−x S samples with different Sn contents (x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) were fabricated by mechanical alloying combined with spark plasma sintering. The phase structure and microstructure of all the bulk samples were checked by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy respectively. The thermoelectric transport properties, such as electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, carrier concentration, carrier mobility, and thermal conductivity, were measured. The effect of second phase introduced by Sn addition on the thermoelectric properties of Cu–S system was investigated. The thermoelectric properties of samples were improved by the precipitations of two different second phases (Cu2SnS3 and Cu4SnS4). The second phase species depend on the Sn contents. Finally, the Sn0.01Cu1.79S bulk sample obtained the highest ZT value of 0.81 at 773 K, which is 1.6-fold higher than that of the pristine Cu1.8S sample due to the significantly reduced thermal conductivity by second phase and nanopores scattering.

Keywords

copper sulfidesthermoelectric propertiessecond phases
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 32 , Issue 16 , 28 August 2017 , pp. 3029 - 3037
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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Footnotes

Contributing Editor: Terry M. Tritt

References

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