ABSTRACT
The low-lead (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xBaTiO3 (x = 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.10 and 0.15) ceramics were fabricated by a two-step solid-state reaction route. The X-ray diffraction characterization confirms a perovskite crystal structure with tetragonal symmetry at room temperature (except for x = 0.15). SEM images indicate that all ceramic samples are dense and compact, with the grain size of 2–6 μm. Along with the increase of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 content, the electrical conductivity increases, and the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity decrease. With increasing temperature, σ and α increase and κ decreases. In general, adding Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 to BaTiO3 leads to an improvement of the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT. The results are explained on the basis of structural, morphological and compositional changes.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).