Synthesis, characterization and applications of Aniline passivated bismuth selenide thermoelectric nanoparticles

Thermoelectric materials have been around since more than a hundred years with applications related to cooling and power generation. The most commonly used thermoelectric materials were typically semiconductors like tellurides and selenides of bismuth, lead, antimony and their alloys. A recent revival of interest in the study of these materials has been propelled by the global needs for alternative sources of energy and by the advances in field of novel material synthesis and characterization. In particular, bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) has been characterized as efficient n-type thermoelectric materials. Another intriguing property of Bi2Se3 is that it behaves like a topological insulator with a conducting surface and an insulating bulk. This has also led to extensive studies on electronic properties of Bi2Se3.The thermoelectric effect or Seebeck effect is the direct con-version of heat into electric energy when two junctions made up of two dissimilar conductors are held at two different temperatures, T1and T2, with T1 > T2 lead to a voltage being developed between the two junctions. In the present investigation Bismuth selenide nanoparticles are synthesized by two different physical methods namely co-precipitation and hydrothermal method. The resultant nanostructures are characterized by X ray diffraction , SEM , FTIR , UV spectroscopy etc.