Fabrication and thermoelectric properties of crystal-aligned nano-structured Bi2Te3

With a view to experimental demonstration for an improved thermoelectric performance, a slip casting method under high magnetic field for uni-directionally aligned crystals has been investigated. The sintered body of Bi₂Te₃ powder, its size between 300 and 500 nm, green-bodied under 6 T magnetic field showed a 33% variation in the fraction of the directionally aligned crystals. According to increasing this fraction, electrical resistivity was reduced with keeping thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient unchanged. This could be explained from the fact that the aligned crystals by magnetic field has increased the carrier mobility keeping carrier concentration unchanged.