The effect of Sm doping on the transport and thermoelectric properties of SnSe

Abstract SnSe has attracted much attention from scientific researchers because of its reported high ZT values. In this study, Sm doped p-type SnSe polycrystal is prepared through melting synthesis and high pressure (6.0 GPa) sintering (HPS) method. The composition and microstructure of the samples was analyzed, and the thermoelectric transport properties were investigated in the temperature range of 303 K to 823 K. The results indicate that the electrical conductivity increases as Sm content increases. The Seebeck coefficient shows a decreasing trend with increasing Sm content. Due to the increase of alloy scattering, the total thermal conductivity decreases with increasing Sm content. The maximum power factor ( PF ) and ZT max value are 214 μW m −1 K −2 and 0.55 for Sn 0.97 Sm 0.03 Se at 823 K, respectively.