Thermoelectric Properties of Cu2HgSnSe4-Cu2HgSnTe4 Solid Solution

Copper-based semiconductors from the family Cu-2-II-IV-VI4 have recently attracted a great deal of attention because of their promising thermoelectric (TE) properties. Polycrystalline samples from the Cu2HgSnSe (x) Te-4A cent E dagger'x (x = 0, 0.8, 2, 3.2, 4) solid solution were prepared and structurally characterized by powder x-ray diffraction. The samples from this solid solution crystallize in the stannite structure (space group ). Transport, TE, and thermal properties of hot-pressed samples are reported. About a 20 % reduction in calculated lattice thermal conductivities, compared to the lattice thermal conductivities of pure components of the alloys (i.e. Cu2HgSnSe4 and Cu2HgSnTe4), was observed for Cu2HgSnSe2Te2 alloy. The maximum ZT of the Cu2HgSnSe2Te2 sample reaches 0.6 at 575 K.