Effect of Sintering Temperature on Thermoelectric Properties of PbTe/Ag Composites Fabricated by Chemical Plating and Spark Plasma Sintering

PbTe/Ag composite powders were synthesized by a chemical plating method and then compacted by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 573 K to 673 K and 50 MPa. The effects of the sintering temperature on the thermoelectric properties of PbTe and the PbTe/Ag composites were investigated. The thermoelectric properties of PbTe and PbTe/Ag bulk samples were measured in the temperature range from 300 K to 700 K. PbTe/Ag bulk samples changed electrical transport behavior from p-type to n-type at room temperature. The SPS temperature not only changed the lattice parameter but also affected the conduction behavior of PbTe/Ag composites. The variation in the carrier concentration was determined by the role of the Ag dopant for different SPS temperatures. Moreover, the conduction of the PbTe/Ag samples changed from metallic to semiconducting in the measured temperature range from 300 K to 700 K as the sintering temperature increased. For the PbTe/Ag bulk materials subjected to SPS at 573 K and 673 K, the values of the power factor were 0.38 mW/m K-2 and 1.31 mW/m K-2 at 700 K, respectively.