Improving the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 through La2O3 dispersion

Theoretically, nanosecond phase dispersion is an effective method to optimize the performance of thermoelectric materials due to the energy filtering effect and strong phonon scattering. Because of the chemical stability of La2O3, it may be used as a second phase material in Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 matrixes. After the introduction of La2O3, its electric transport performance decreases slightly, but its thermal transport performance increases further. Finally, its thermoelectric performance is optimized. At 455 K, the maximum dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) value of Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 + 0.5 wt% La2O3 reaches 0.97. The experimental results demonstrate that La2O3 dispersion can improve the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 effectively(.)