Temperature dependence of effective thermal conductivity and diffusivity of ZnxTe100−x (x = 5, 10, 30 and 50) chalcogenide material

Measurements of thermophysical properties of ZnxTe100−x (x = 5, 10, 30 and 50) chalcogenide material in pellet form have been made in the temperature range from room temperature (15 °C) to 200 °C and in cooling cycle from 200 °C to 15 °C using transient plane source (TPS) technique. In heating mode the values of effective thermal conductivity (λe) and effective thermal diffusivity (χe) increase from 15 °C to 200 °C. During the cooling mode λe and χe decrease slightly in the temperature range from 200 °C to 160 °C below which λe and χe remain almost constant at all temperatures. Such type of behaviour shows thermal hysteresis in this sample, which can be explained on the basis of the change in structure of the material. XRD studies suggest that the material is polycrystalline in nature.