{"title":"Fast, Simple, and Cost-Effective Fabrication of High-Performance Thermoelectric Ag2Se through Low-Temperature Hot-Pressing","authors":"Jariya Lasiw, Teerasak Kamwanna, Supree Pinitsoontorn","doi":"10.1002/cnma.202400319","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Silver selenide (Ag<sub>2</sub>Se) is a promising thermoelectric material for near-room temperature applications. This study proposes a fast, simple, and cost-effective method for producing high thermoelectric performance bulk Ag<sub>2</sub>Se. Ag<sub>2</sub>Se powders were synthesized from Ag and Se powders via a one-hour wet ball milling process, followed by the fabrication of bulk pellets through low-temperature hot-pressing (130–250 °C) with a mere 0.5-hour holding time. Both Ag<sub>2</sub>Se powders and bulk pellets exhibited a single phase of Ag<sub>2</sub>Se with an orthorhombic structure. Moreover, uniform compositional distribution with the stoichiometric Ag : Se ratio was observed in all samples. Microstructural analysis revealed distinct grain boundaries in samples hot-pressed below 190 °C, transitioning to grain coalescence was at 190 °C and 250 °C. The thermoelectric and transport measurements demonstrated that the electrical conductivity decreased and the Seebeck coefficient increased with hot-pressing temperatures from 130 °C and 190 °C primarily due to reduced carrier concentrations. Thermal conductivity decreased with increasing hot-pressing temperatures up to 190 °C, attributed to the weak chemical bonding of Ag<sub>2</sub>Se and the presence of defects. This combination resulted in a peak <i>zT</i> over 1.0 at 300 K, with an average <i>zT</i> close to 1.0 from 300 to 380 K. In comparison to other reported synthesis methods, the present approach offers significantly reduced processing time, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. Despite lower temperatures and shorter processing times, the method produces Ag<sub>2</sub>Se with <i>zT</i> values comparable to more intricate techniques. This fabrication route holds the potential for scalable mass production in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":54339,"journal":{"name":"ChemNanoMat","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ChemNanoMat","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cnma.202400319","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Silver selenide (Ag2Se) is a promising thermoelectric material for near-room temperature applications. This study proposes a fast, simple, and cost-effective method for producing high thermoelectric performance bulk Ag2Se. Ag2Se powders were synthesized from Ag and Se powders via a one-hour wet ball milling process, followed by the fabrication of bulk pellets through low-temperature hot-pressing (130–250 °C) with a mere 0.5-hour holding time. Both Ag2Se powders and bulk pellets exhibited a single phase of Ag2Se with an orthorhombic structure. Moreover, uniform compositional distribution with the stoichiometric Ag : Se ratio was observed in all samples. Microstructural analysis revealed distinct grain boundaries in samples hot-pressed below 190 °C, transitioning to grain coalescence was at 190 °C and 250 °C. The thermoelectric and transport measurements demonstrated that the electrical conductivity decreased and the Seebeck coefficient increased with hot-pressing temperatures from 130 °C and 190 °C primarily due to reduced carrier concentrations. Thermal conductivity decreased with increasing hot-pressing temperatures up to 190 °C, attributed to the weak chemical bonding of Ag2Se and the presence of defects. This combination resulted in a peak zT over 1.0 at 300 K, with an average zT close to 1.0 from 300 to 380 K. In comparison to other reported synthesis methods, the present approach offers significantly reduced processing time, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. Despite lower temperatures and shorter processing times, the method produces Ag2Se with zT values comparable to more intricate techniques. This fabrication route holds the potential for scalable mass production in the future.
ChemNanoMatEnergy-Energy Engineering and Power Technology
CiteScore
6.10
自引率
2.60%
发文量
236
期刊介绍:
ChemNanoMat is a new journal published in close cooperation with the teams of Angewandte Chemie and Advanced Materials, and is the new sister journal to Chemistry—An Asian Journal.