Electrochemical Assembled p-type Bi_2Te_3 Thermoelectric Materials with Nanowire Array Structure

The electrodeposition process of p-type Bi_2Te_3 thermoelectric materials in the solution containing Bi~(+3) and HTeO_2~(+1) was investigated. During the electrodeposition prosess, Bi~(+3) can promote the reduction of HTeO_2~(+1). The addition of glycerin in the electrodepositing solution can decrease the solving rate of alumina templates in the solution, but glycerin also decreases the electrodeposition rate remarkably. The p-type Bi_2Te_3 thermoelectric materials with nanowire array structure were electrochemically assembled into the nano-pores of the alumina template. The performance measurements show that the Seebeck coefficient a of the nanowire array is much higher than that of the bulk thermoelectric materials with the same composition.