Fabrication of the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thermoelectric material by fusion-mechanical milling and spark plasma sintering

Abstract This study is focused on the fabrication of the Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 by fusion-mechanical milling and spark plasma sintering. Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 powder with sub-micron particle size was produced by fusion-mechanical milling. Upon sintering the powder, it is found that the thermal and electrical characteristics of the sintered body varied with sintering temperature. As the sintering temperature increased, the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity of the sintered body decreased and the thermal conductivity increased. In addition, the figure of merit ( ZT ) decreased with increasing sintering temperature. The sintered body, when sintered for 180 s at 573 K, displayed a figure of merit of approximately 1.15 in the range between room temperature and 473 K.