The ternary thallium chalcogenides TlGdQ2 (Q = Se, Te), and Tl9GdTe6 were synthesized, and their thermoelectric properties were evaluated. The chalcogenides TlGdQ2 are isostructural with TlSbQ2 (space group \( R\bar{3}m \)), adopting the α-NaFeO2 structure type, and Tl9GdTe6 is isostructural with Tl9BiTe6 (space group I4/mcm). TlGdSe2 was found to be a wide-bandgap semiconductor with rather high Seebeck coefficient and low electrical conductivity. The corresponding telluride TlGdTe2 behaves like a doped semiconductor, and possesses very low thermal conductivity at room temperature on the order of 0.5 W m−1 K−1, a property advantageous for thermoelectric applications. Tl9GdTe6 exhibits relatively high room-temperature electrical conductivity of around 850 Ω−1 cm−1 and a low Seebeck coefficient of 27 μV K−1, yielding a low power factor. Of these three compounds, TlGdTe2 exhibits the best thermoelectric properties, with maximum dimensionless figure of merit in the measured temperature regime of 0.5 at 550 K.
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Sankar, C.R., Bangarigadu-Sanasy, S. & Kleinke, H. Thermoelectric Properties of TlGdQ2 (Q = Se, Te) and Tl9GdTe6 . J. Electron. Mater. 41, 1662–1666 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-011-1846-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-011-1846-z