Rapid microwave synthesis of Cu2Se thermoelectric material with high conductivity

In this study, the dense bulk Cu 2 Se thermoelectric (TE) materials were prepared by microwave melting and hot pressing sintering. The effects of different cooling processes on the microstructure and TE properties of Cu 2 Se were investigated. The results showed that the Cu 2 Se TE material prepared by microwave synthesis had high electrical conductivity, which was about 10 5 S⋅m[Formula: see text]. The annealing process can lead to grain growth of Cu 2 Se and the formation of micropores in the Cu 2 Se, which deteriorated the thermal conductivity. The Cu 2 Se material prepared by the microwave melting and slow cooling process had the best TE performance, and the ZT value can reach 0.68 at 700 K.