Enhanced thermoelectric performance in p-type BiSbTe bulk alloy with nanoinclusion of ZnAlO

p-type BiSbTe/x wt % ZnAlO (x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0) composites were prepared by zone melting method. A peak thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 1.33 at 370 K was achieved for the sample with x=0.75, about 34% higher than that of BiSbTe at the same temperature, making these composites more attractive for commercial applications. This enhancement of ZT can be mainly ascribed to a remarkable increase of the electrical conductivity and a simultaneous decrease of the lattice thermal conductivity by the introduction of ZnAlO nanopowder.