Influence of Cu Diffusion on Electrical Transport Properties of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3

Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 nanoplates from gas induced reduction (GIR) strategy were hot-pressed into bulk materials for thermoelectric properties investigation. During the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements, we found that the Cu from Cu electrodes diffused into samples when the measurement temperature was above 600 K. The phase composition and fracture surface of the samples before and after Cu diffusion were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). We found that the Cu diffusion resulted in the composition deviation and formation of impurity phase, Cu1.8Te. When the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the samples were measured again but below 600 K, the samples showed different electrical transport behavior and had enhanced power factors.