In a typical thermal explosion process, a single-phase CuFeS2 is obtained in a very short time and the thermoelectric performance of the fully condensed bulk samples is better than that of the samples synthesized by the traditional methods. The presence of phase boundaries in the CuFeS2−x has an effect on the transport properties: phase boundaries scatter low-frequency phonons and reduce the thermal conductivity of a composite structure. Moreover, large differences in the carrier concentration in CuFeS2 and Cu1.1Fe1.1S2 drive a redistribution of electrons in the composite and lead to an enhancement in the electronic transport properties.
- Hongyao Xie
- Xianli Su
- Xinfeng Tang
