Effects of inorganic salt NaNbO3 composite on the thermoelectric properties of tellurium nanorods thin slice.

There has recently been increased interest in tellurium nanomaterials (Te NMs)-based thermoelectric (TE) materials owing to their large Seebeck coefficient. Meanwhile, techniques such as doping, alloying, and composite have been intensively investigated to further enhance the TE performance of Te NMs-based energy conversion devices. However, the effects of certain inorganic salts on the TE performance of Te NMs have not been studied thus far. Herein, an inorganic salt NaNbO 3 was employed to prepared the Te nanorods (Te-NRs) composite as TE material via a hydrothermal method. Furthermore, the chemical composition, microstructure, thermal stability, and TE performance were systematically investigated for NaNbO 3 /Te-NRs composites at room temperature. By optimization, the NaNbO 3 /Te-NRs composite with the mass ratio of 1:1 achieved a simultaneous improvement in Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity resulting a large TE power factor (PF) of 43.5 μW m−1 K−2 and a high figure of merit (ZT) of 0.081 which are 8 times higher than the pure Te-NRs. In addition, the introduction of NaNbO 3 effectively improves the environmental stability of Te-NRs due to the formation of interfaces between NaNbO 3 and Te-NRs. This composite strategy proposed a novel approach to develop a promising TE material. This work realized the dramatically enhanced TE performance by compositing NaNbO 3 with Te-NRs. Image 1 • Inorganic salt NaNbO 3 composited Te nanorods were prepared via hydrothermal method. • NaNbO 3 shows great effect on the enhancement of Seebeck coefficient for the composites. • A large power factor was obtained for the as-fabricated NaNbO 3 /Te-NRs composites. • The as-fabricated composites thin slices are air-stable in TE performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]