Thermoelectric performance of p-type Nd1−xInxTe3 fabricated by high pressure sintering method

Thermoelectric properties of Nd1−xInxTe3 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) fabricated by high pressure sintering method were investigated in the temperature range of 291 K-673 K. The results indicate that over 623 K-673 K, the thermal conductivity of moderately doped Nd1−xInxTe3 (x = 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05) is 40%-50% lower than that of un-doped NdTe3, which can be attributed to alloy scattering. Though the absolute values of the power factor are slightly reduced by the doping, the reduced thermal conductivity results in high values of ZT at 623 K. Specifically, the lightly In-doped compound Nd0.99In0.01Te3 exhibits the best thermoelectric performance, with a figure of merit, ZT, of 0.18 at 623 K. This is almost a doubling of that of the un-doped NdTe3 measured in this study, suggesting that the proper In-doping in NdTe3 is a promising way to improve its thermoelectric performance.