Synthesis and assessment of Au-doped Sb2Te3 microstructures for magnetic and thermoelectric properties

Antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) is well known for its thermoelectric characteristics. Herein, solvothermally synthesized Au-doped Sb2Te3 microstructures were examined for their enhanced thermoelectric (TE) properties. The crystallinity, composition, morphology, and thermal stability of the synthesized Au-doped Sb2Te3 were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive Xray spectroscopy (EDX), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) respectively. Further, the thermoelectric parameters were measured as a function of temperature. These Au-doped Sb2Te3 microstructures exhibited improved electrical conductivity (sigma DC) from 0.029 to 0.106 Omega m(-1) across a temperature range of 298-493 K, along with reduced thermal conductivity (kappa), ranging from 0.59 to 0.49 W m(-1) K-1 between 298 and 393 K. Furthermore, the maximum value estimated for the Seebeck coefficient (S) of Au-doped Sb2Te3 microstructures was 129 mu V K-1 and adding up Au as the dopant showed a nominal variation in magnetic behavior in a temperature-based (5-308 K) magnetic study.