Preparation, Characterization, Photoluminescence Spectra and Thermoelectric Properties of Nanostructured Pb1-Xsbxte Alloys

This study focuses on the impacts of antimony doping on the morphological, optical, and thermoelectric properties of PbTe nanostructures synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy analyses revealed the formation of the cubic phase characterizing the PbTe compounds. The morphology and internal structure of the samples are examined by the scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscope. The photoluminescence spectra show a band gap energy around 3.0 eV which is higher than that of the bulk sample. The thermoelectric properties are studied in the temperature range of 300–500 K and confirm the domination of p-type conduction in the whole temperature range. The highest value ZT= 0.79 is recorded for the sample of x = 0.04 Sb content at 418 K which is comparable to the values reported previously for PbTe nanostructures synthesized by other methods.