Thermoelectric properties of carbon nanotube/ceramic nanocomposites

Thermoelectric properties of single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT)/ceramic nanocomposites produced by spark-plasma-sintering have been investigated in this study. The thermoelectric power of the composites increases with increasing temperature, showing a p-type value of 50.4 μV/K at 644 K that is comparable to that of pure SWNT. The SWNT/3Y-TZP composite has a figure of merit (ZT) of ∼0.02 at 850 K, indicating potential for use as a thermoelectric material. It would be very promising if CNT/ceramic composites with ZT > 1 could be attained by improving the electrical conductivity of the composites while maintaining or enhancing high thermopower through selecting the ratio of pure metallic to semiconducting CNTs.