Effects of nano-domains on thermoelectric properties in telluride system

The thermoelectric properties such as the electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity are highly correlated with each other. Thus it is difficult to achieve the enhancing properties by the conventional way. However, our recent development of the embedding the nano-domains such as the nano-dots, nano-twin, and nano-amorphous structure in the matrix compounds can help us to engineer each thermoelectric property independently. The general effect of the nano-domains on the thermoelectric properties was that the thermal conductivity of the nano-domain embedded compounds was dramatically decreased, whereas the electrical properties were relatively sustained. Thus the thermoelectric efficiency of the materials was enhanced and controllable with respect to the temperature. The thermoelectric properties and microstructure of Bi-Sb-Te and I-V-Te compounds will be addressed in detail. The effect of the nano-domains on the properties and the mechanism for the formation of the nano-domains will be presented in detail.