Crystal growth and thermoelectric properties of Sn-doped Bi₂Se₃

We have studied the crystal growth of SnxBi(2)Se(3) (x = 0 similar to 0.75) and examined the effect of Sn doping on the structure and thermoelectric properties of Bi2Se3. All the crystal samples of SnxBi(2)Se(3) were synthesized using a direct melt-growth. The results indicated that when the Sn doping content was <= 0.3, some Sn atoms were incorporated into the interlayers of Bi2Se3, thereby increasing the carrier concentration. In the intermediate to the high-temperature range, Sn doping improved the electrical conductivity of Bi2Se3, resulting in overall good performance in the power factor(PF). All the doped samples exhibited good ZT (a dimensionless figure of merit) in the intermediate to the high-temperature range, especially with the doping sample of x = 0.3 showing a maximum ZT value of 0.2 at 835 K.