Synthesis of PbTe‐SnTe particles by thermal decomposition of salts to create nano‐structured thermoelectric materials

Micro- and nanocrystalline particles of Pb-Sn-Te mixed crystals were synthesized using thermal decomposition and chemical interaction of lead acetate, tin oxalate and tellurium powder mixture in H2 atmosphere. For the process parameter optimization data of thermal gravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electronic microscopy (TEM, SEM) and measurements of the specific surface of particles were used. Additionally the influence of gas phases on the decomposition kinetics, crystal structure, size, specific surface of the particles, gains composition and the physical properties were analyzed. Seebeck coefficient values increased and conductivity decreased with decreasing tin concentration. The presented method for preparing PbTe-SnTe polydisperse particles is developed to create nano-structured thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)