Designing cost-performance porous thermoelectric materials by interface engineering through atomic layer deposition

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2024.06.037

J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2025, Vol. 214: 194-203.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2024.06.037

• Research Article • Previous Articles Next Articles

Designing cost-performance porous thermoelectric materials by interface engineering through atomic layer deposition

Shuankui Li^a,b,1, Wenguang Zhao^c,1, Xiao-Lei Shi^d,1, Liangliang Wang^a, Shusheng Pan^a,b, Guofeng Cheng^e, Wei-Di Liu^d, Meng Li^d, Kai Guo^a,b,*, Zhi-Gang Chen^d,**, Feng Pan^c,**

^aSchool of Physics and Materials Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China;
^bResearch Center for Advanced Information Materials (CAIM), Huangpu Research & graduate School of Guangzhou University, Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, Huangpu District, Guangzhou 510555, China;
^cSchool of Advanced Materials, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China;
^dSchool of Chemistry and Physics, ARC Research Hub in Zero-Emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia;
^eState Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China

Received:2024-01-21 Revised:2024-06-06 Accepted:2024-06-29 Published:2025-04-10 Online:2025-04-05
Contact: *School of Physics and Materials Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510 0 06, China. **E-mail addresses: kai.guo@gzhu.edu.cn (K. Guo), zhigang.chen@qut.edu.au (Z.-G. Chen), panfeng@pkusz.edu.cn (F. Pan)
About author:¹ These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Abstract: The bismuth-telluride-based alloy is the only thermoelectric material commercialized for the applications of refrigeration and energy harvesting, but its low cost-effectiveness severely restricts its large-scale application. The introduction of a porous structure in bulk thermoelectric materials has been theoretically proven to effectively reduce thermal conductivity and cost. However, the electrical properties of highly porous materials are considerably suppressed due to the strong carrier scattering at the interface between the matrix and pores, ultimately leading to decreased figure of merit, ZT. Here, we use an atomic layer deposition strategy to introduce some hollow glass bubbles with nano-oxide layers into commercial Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ for preparing high-performance porous thermoelectric materials. Experimental results indicate that the nano-oxide layers weaken carrier scattering at the interface between pores and matrix while maintaining high-strength phonon scattering, thereby optimizing carrier/phonon transport behaviors, and effectively increasing the ZT by 23.2% (from 0.99 to 1.22 at 350 K). Besides, our strategy has excellent universality confirmed by its effectiveness in improving the ZT of Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3, therefore demonstrating great potential for developing low-cost and high-performance thermoelectric materials.

Key words: Thermoelectric, Bismuth telluride, Porosity, Atomic layer deposition, Interface, Performance

Shuankui Li, Wenguang Zhao, Xiao-Lei Shi, Liangliang Wang, Shusheng Pan, Guofeng Cheng, Wei-Di Liu, Meng Li, Kai Guo, Zhi-Gang Chen, Feng Pan. Designing cost-performance porous thermoelectric materials by interface engineering through atomic layer deposition[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2025, 214: 194-203.

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Designing cost-performance porous thermoelectric materials by interface engineering through atomic layer deposition

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