Enhancement of the Seebeck Coefficient in Stacked Bi2Se3 Nanoplates by Energy Filtering

Abstract In this work, Bi 2 Se 3 stacking nanoplates composed of three (or five) thin nanosheets have been successfully fabricated in the presence of ethylene glycol (EG) and by applying sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as surfactant. The microstructure and morphology of the obtained products were characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction, field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected‐area electron diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy techniques. We found that the power factor can be tuned by energy filtering. The maximum power factor of 179 μW m –1 K –2 can be obtained for the sample (CMC‐3) by using CMC3 (viscosity, 300–800 mPa s) as surfactant at 544 K, which is about 14 % higher than that of the sample prepared with no CMC as surfactant.