Reference compositions for bismuth telluride thermoelectric materials for low-temperature power generation

TL;DR

This paper develops standardized reference compositions for bismuth telluride thermoelectric materials using data-driven analysis, aiming to improve reproducibility, reliability, and industrial adoption of low-temperature thermoelectric power generation.

Contribution

It identifies and validates representative BiTe-based compositions as references, providing benchmark data to support standardization and accelerate industrial integration.

Findings

Bi0.46Sb1.54Te3 and Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 are the most studied compositions.

Synthesized materials show properties aligning with median reported data.

Estimated thermoelectric module performance: over 2.51 W power output and 3.58% efficiency at 120 K.

Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) technology enables direct heat-to-electricity conversion and is gaining attention as a clean, fuel-saving, and carbon-neutral solution for industrial, automotive, and marine applications. Despite nearly a century of research, apart from successes in deep-space power sources and solid-state cooling modules, the industrialization and commercialization of TE power generation remain limited. Since the new millennium, nanostructured bulk materials have accelerated the discovery of new TE systems. However, due to limited access to high-temperature heat sources, energy harvesting still relies almost exclusively on BiTe-based alloys, which are the only system operating stably near room temperature. Although many BiTe-based compositions have been proposed, concerns over reproducibility, reliability, and lifetime continue to hinder industrial adoption. Here, we aim to develop reference BiTe-based thermoelectric materials through data-driven analysis of Starrydata2, the world's largest thermoelectric database. We identify Bi0.46Sb1.54Te3 and Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 as the most frequently studied ternary compositions. These were synthesized using hot pressing and spark-plasma sintering. Thermoelectric properties were evaluated with respect to the processing method and measurement direction. The results align closely with the median of reported data, confirming the representativeness of the selected compositions. We propose these as reference BiTe materials, accompanied by transparent data and validated benchmarks. Their use can support the standardization of TE legs and modules while accelerating performance evaluation and industrial integration. We further estimated the performance of a thermoelectric module made from the reference composition, which gives the power output of over 2.51 W and an efficiency of 3.58% at a temperature difference of 120 K.