Electrodeposition and morphology analysis of Bi-Te thermoelectric alloy nanoparticles on copper substrate

Nanoscale Bi-Te particles with thermoelectric properties on copper substrate were investigated. The substrate was prepared by electroplating copper layer on a copper zinc alloy plate in a copper Sulfate solution. Electrodeposition of the Bi-Te alloy particles was then performed in a nitrate bath. The electrolyte is composed of 0.05 M bismuth nitrate and 0.01 M tellurium dioxide dissolved in 2.0 M HNO(3). Cyclic voltammetry and quartz microbalance tests associated with the electrodeposition process were conducted to show the mechanism and kinetics of the deposition. The morphology and compositional analysis of Bi-Te was obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) respectively. The morphology analysis suggested that nanoscale Bi-Te particles were obtained and the EDS results indicated that the surface of the copper substrate contained Cu(2)O. The atomic ratio 1:1 for Bi:Te in the alloy, which is equivalent to the weight percentage of Bi:Te=62%:38% was confirmed from the data obtained. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.