High thermoelectric performance of tetrahedrites through InSb inclusion

Several p-type Cu12Sb4S13 composites Cu12Sb4S13 based composites Cu12Sb4S13/x%InSb (0 ≤ x ≤ 4) have been prepared as environmentally-friendly thermoelectric materials. A high figure of merit ZT = 0.9 is obtained for the sample Cu12Sb4S13/3%InSb at 723 K, which is ∼61% larger than that for pure Cu12Sb4S13 at the same temperature. The excellent performance is due to the simultaneous enhancement in Seebeck coefficient and reduction in thermal conductivity across the whole temperature range investgated. We believe that this study could be highly applicable in guiding the performance enhancement of other state-of-the-art thermoelectric systems.