Realize high thermoelectric performance in both zone-melted ingots and powder-metallurgy bulks of Bi_0.46Sb_1.54Te₃

Bi(Sb)₂Te(Se)₃ alloys, as the only commercial thermoelectric materials, have been applied widely in cooling fields. While, the current energy conversion efficiency (dominated by the dimensionless ZT) of commercial products is still lower and cannot meet the market demand. In this paper, high thermoelectric performance at room temperature in both zone-melted (ZM) Bi_0.46Sb_1.54Te₃ ingots and powder-metallurgy (PM) Bi_0.46Sb_1.54Te₃ blocks with a large size was realized successfully by optimizing their preparation process. The peak ZT values of ZM and PM p-type Bi_0.46Sb_1.54Te₃ alloys reached 1.26 and 1.45, respectively. They are higher than those of all the n-type or p-type Bi₂Te₃-based products in current commercial applications. In particular, their production process of large size p-type Bi_0.46Sb_1.54Te₃ alloys could be directly industrialized.