Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Materials Letters
Publication Date
Page Numbers
443 to 451
Volume
91
Issue
7
Abstract
Thermal stability is a key factor affecting the deployment of thermoelectric (TE) materials in the application of power generation. LAST (Lead-Antimony-Silver-Tellurium) is an emerging material with promising TE properties. The current study focused on the thermal stability of a LAST composition Ag0.86Pb19SbTe20 fabricated from a cast ingot. Using a customized heating stage, the morphology of LAST particles was studied via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in situ, between room temperature and 575oC. The LAST material included in this study was stable below 550oC. The inclusion phase, which was antimony-rich, has a lower thermal stability than the PbTe-rich matrix. The SEM finding was also consistent with a thermogravimetrtic analysis.
