^ Bulk Synthesis of Thermoelectric Materials P. V. Braun,* T. Dellinger U.S. Department of Energy, DE-FG02-91ER45439
(In cooperation with the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory)
The thermoelectric figure of merit of bismuth, Bi2Te3, and other materials increases with decreasing dimensionality. If bismuth metal is produced with a characteristic dimension of less than 50 nm, its thermoelectric figure of merit is theorized to increase substantially. With the goal of creating efficient thermoelectric materials, researchers are exploring several self-assembly routes to the synthesis of nanophase bismuth and Bi2Te3. Initial results indicate bismuth metal of reduced dimensionality can be produced through several self-assembly strategies. Researchers are using SEM and TEM to characterize the materials synthesized in this project.
