Fine Tuning of Defects Enables High Carrier Mobility and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of n-Type PbTe.

ABSTRACT: High carrier mobility is critical to improving thermoelectric performance over a broad temperature range. However, traditional doping inevitably deteriorates carrier mobility. Herein, we develop a strategy for fine tuning of defects to improve carrier mobility. To begin, n-type PbTe is created by compensating for the intrinsic Pb vacancy in bare PbTe. Excess Pb²⁺ reduces vacancy scattering, resulting in a high carrier mobility of ∼3400 cm² V^-1 s^-1. Then, excess Ag is introduced to compensate for the remaining intrinsic Pb vacancies. We find that excess Ag exhibits a dynamic doping process with increasing temperatures, increasing both the carrier concentration and carrier mobility throughout a wide temperature range; specifically, an ultrahigh car

SUBMITTER: Wang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9878722 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature