Enhancing thermoelectric performance of ternary nanocrystals through adjusting carrier concentration.

The carrier concentration of chemically synthesized Bi(2)Te(3)-based nanocrystals (NCs) is for the first time reported to be adjusted by forming ternary Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te(3) NCs (x = 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50, and 1.50) through partial substitution of Bi with Sb. Carrier concentrations of ternary Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te(3) NCs were successfully adjusted by a factor of more than 10 controlled by the stoichiometric partial Sb/Bi substitution level. The power factors of the stoichiometric ternary Bi(2-x)Sb(x)Te(3) NCs improved three times compared to the parent Bi(2)Te(3) due to the carrier concentration adjustment.