Thermoelectric characteristics of γ-Ag2Te nanoparticle thin films on flexible substrates

In this study, we synthesized Ag2Te nanoparticles (NPs) in an aqueous solution and investigated the thermoelectric characteristics of Ag2Te NP thin films on bendable substrates. The Ag2Te NPs have an average size of 6 nm and a body-centered cubic γ-phase (or, γ-Ag2Te), and they exhibit typical p-type thermoelectric behaviors. The Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of a γ-Ag2Te NP thin film are 1330 μV/K and 0.037 S/m, respectively, and the power factor is calculated to be 0.66 μW/mK2. Furthermore, our bending study shows the stability of the thermoelectric characteristics of γ-Ag2Te NP thin films after the bending cycles.