Thermoelectric properties of pressed pellets and pressureless sintering in the K₂Bi₈Se_13-xS_x system

The solid solutions of ß-K₂Bi₈Se₁₃ are an interesting series of materials for thermoelectric investigations because they possess very low thermal conductivity and relatively high power factor. Moreover, the sulfur-substituted K₂Bi₈Se _13-xS_x compounds were found to have promising properties showing the potential for high temperature applications. Due to their high anisotropic properties, we aim to develop polycrystalline pellets and study their thermoelectric properties as well as their potential to achieve promising power factor. In this work, for the first time pressed pellet samples of the K₂Bi₈Se₁₃ system are presented. The morphology of the material and the thermoelectric properties of pressed pellets of the K₂Bi₈Se_13-xS_x compounds were studied in terms of sintering conditions.