Microstructure, optical and electrical characterizations of Bi-incorporated Sb2Te3 thermoelectric compound synthesized by mechanical alloying: A comparative study with undoped Sb2Te3

Bismuth incorporated antimony telluride has been synthesized within 3 h via the facile mechanical alloying method at room temperature. The rhombohedral crystal structure, microstructure (i.e, crystallite size, lattice strain etc.), and morphology of the sample have been revealed from Rietveld's refined XRD pat-terns and FESEM images. FTIR study confirms that the sample is a narrow bandgap semiconductor. The detailed study of impedance spectra, ac conductivity reveals the frequency and temperature-activated non-Debye type relaxation process of this semiconducting sample. The lower dielectric loss value at high frequencies shows the better applicability of the material in the high-frequency zone of optoelectronics. All the properties are compared with the previously reported undoped 3 h milled Sb2Te3 sample.Copyright (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.