Correlation between thermoelectric properties and plastic deformation of p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thermoelectric materials

A plastic deformation process and ratio study of p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 was performed. The ingots were grown by the Bridgman method. Disks were cut from the ingots and deformed by either cold-pressing or hot-pressing under pulse current heating. The plastic deformation ratio was controlled in the range from 55 to 90%. The crystal structures of the deformed samples were identified by X-ray diffraction and pole figure analyses. The diffraction patterns indicate that the surfaces and bottoms of the samples were highly oriented in the hexagonal (00-l) plane. Thermoelectric properties change depending on not the plastic deformation ratio but the kind of plastic deformation process. The power factor for hot-press deformed samples exceeded those for the original ingots and cold-press deformed samples. The results suggest that the process of hot-press deformation enhances the thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3.