Methods of manufacturing multi-element thermoelectric alloys

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of forming a multi-element thermoelectric alloy. A plurality of binary alloys and milling balls are put in a milling pot to perform a ball-milling process to obtain a multi-element thermoelectric alloy powders. The milling balls have a diameter of 1 mm to 10 mm. The milling balls and the binary alloys have a weight ratio of 1:1 to 50:1. The rotation rate of the ball-milling process is of 200 rpm to 1000 rpm. The ball-milling process is processed for 4 hours to 12 hours.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing a multi-element thermoelectric alloy, comprising:
 providing a plurality of binary alloys and milling balls in a milling pot to perform a ball-milling process to obtain a multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder, wherein the milling balls have a diameter of 1 mm to 10 mm, the milling balls and the binary alloys have a weight ratio of 1:1 to 50:1, the ball-milling process has a rotation rate of 200 rpm to 1000 rpm, and the ball-milling process is processed for 4 hours to 12 hours.   
     
     
         2 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the binary alloys comprise a combination of Bi 2 Te 3  and Sb 2 Te 3 , and the multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder is Bi x Sb 2-x Te 3 , wherein x is a value of 0.1 to 0.8. 
     
     
         3 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the binary alloys comprise a combination of Bi 2 Te 3  and Bi 2 Se 3 , and the multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder is Bi 2 Se y Te 3-y , wherein y is a value of 0.1 to 0.8. 
     
     
         4 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the binary alloys comprise a combination of PbTe and SnTe, and the multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder is Pb z Sn 1-z Te, wherein z is a value of 0.1 to 0.9. 
     
     
         5 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the binary alloys comprise a combination of PbTe and AgSb, a combination of PbAg and Sb 2 Te 3 , or a combination of PbSb and AgTe, and the multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder is Ag m Pb n Te p Sb, wherein m is a value of 0.1 to 1, n is a value of 15 to 25, and p is a value of 15 to 25. 
     
     
         6 . The method as claimed in  claim 5 , further adding a metal compound into the milling pot, wherein the metal compound comprises PbI 2 , TeI 4 , SbI 2 , or AgI. 
     
     
         7 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further adding a metal compound into the milling pot, wherein the metal compound comprises PbI 2 , TeI 4 , SbI 2 , or AgI. 
     
     
         8 . The method as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the binary alloys and the metal compound comprise a combination of PbAg, PbSb, and TeI 4 , a combination of PbAg, PbTe, and SbI 2 , a combination of PbTe, PbSb, and AgI, or a combination of AgTe, AgSb, and PbI 2 , and the multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder is Ag m Pb n Te p SbI q , wherein m is a value of 0.1 to 1, n is a value of 15 to 25, p is a value of 15 to 25, and q is a value of 0.1 to 1. 
     
     
         9 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising sintering and compressing the multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder in argon or vacuum by a spark plasma sintering process, thereby forming a multi-element thermoelectric bulk alloy, wherein the spark plasma sintering process is performed at a temperature of 300° C. to 600° C. for a period of 3 minutes to 30 minutes. 
     
     
         10 . The method as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the spark plasma sintering process has a heating rate of 25° C./minute to 100° C./minute, and the multi-element thermoelectric alloy powder is compressed by a pressure of 25 MPa to 100 MPa.