Enhanced thermoelectric properties of electrodeposited Cu-doped Te films

Abstract

Bismuth telluride-based alloys are the best-known thermoelectric materials in the room-temperature regime. Here, we report on the enhanced thermoelectric properties of electrodeposited copper-doped tellurium films as an n-type thermoelectric material for near-room-temperature applications. With the increase of the copper content in the films, we observe an enhancement of the thermoelectric properties. Thereby, we investigate the role of copper in modifying the crystal structure, which leads to the amorphous nature of the films and the corresponding enhancement in the thermoelectric properties. The electrodeposited copper-doped tellurium films exhibit a high Seebeck coefficient of -227 mu V/K, resulting to a power factor of 5.6 mW/mK(2) , which is a promising power factor observed for the electrodeposited thermoelectric materials and can be a favorable n-type thermoelectric material for device applications.