Facile and Low-Cost Fabrication of Cu/Zn/Sn-Based Ternary and Quaternary Chalcogenides Thermoelectric Generators

In this work, Cu/Zn/Sn-based ternary and quaternary chalcogenides inks were synthesized via hot injection and/or from ball-milled powders. The used to fabricate thermoelectric generators (TEGs) based on p-type chalcogenide n-type aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films spin-coating magnetron sputtering, respectively. This work highlights the first-ever attempt in a facile scalable method thin-film TEGs using safe, low-cost, abundant materials. Four different fabricated Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe), Cu2.125Zn0.875SnS3Se (CZTSSe), Cu2SnS3 (CTS) chalcogenides. Thermoelectric transport analysis confirmed respective p- natures of AZO, with their Seebeck coefficients compatible be coupled p–n device. addition, full-device has been carried out, several factors affecting performance investigated, including composition, density, presence secondary phases films. maximum power per unit active planar area obtained for CZTS, CZTSe, CZTSSe, CTS at temperature difference (ΔT) 160 K was ∼43, ∼188, ∼23, ∼59 nW/cm2, respectively, making CZTSe/AZO TEG champion