Large improvement in thermoelectric properties in pressure-tuned p-type Sb_1.5Bi_0.5Te₃

There is widespread interest in the search for materials that would allow the fabrication of more efficient thermoelectric devices for cooling and power generation applications. Here, we report a large increase in the thermoelectric power of p-doped antimony bismuth telluride alloys upon pressure tuning under nonhydrostatic compression conditions. Together with measurements of the electrical conductivity and an upper bound estimated for the thermal conductivity under pressure, these results indicate that values of the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, in excess of 2 have been achieved, substantially larger than the best observed values in bulk materials to date, We suggest an explanation for the observed behavior and strategies for attempting to reproduce it at ambient pressure.