High Thermoelectric Properties of PbTe Doped with Bi₂Te₃ and Sb₂Te₃

The composition-dependent thermoelectric properties of lead telluride (PbTe) doped with bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃), antimony telluride (Sb₂Te₃) and (BiSb)₂Te₃ have been studied at room temperature. All the samples exhibit small thermal conductivity. The figures of merit, 7.63, 1.03 and 8.97×10^-4, have been obtained in PbTe with these dopants, respectively. These values are several times higher than those of PbTe containing other dopants with small grain sizes. The high thermoelectric performance is explained by electronic topological transition induced by alloying. The results indicate that these dopants are effective to enhance the thermoelectric performance of PbTe.