Low thermal conductivity and high figure of merit for rapidly synthesized n-type Pb1-xBixTe alloys.High figures of merit of n-type Pb1-xBixTe alloys have been achieved by rapid synthesis at low temperature.  The effects of Bi dopant and microwave hydrothermal technology on microstructure and thermoelectric performance have been studied.  Homogenous nanopowders of about 70 nm have been synthesized by the microwave hydrothermal method.  A higher power factor of 8.5 μW cm-1 K-2 is obtained for x = 0.02 sample at 623 K. In addition, the introduction of Bi effectively prohibits the p-n transition and bipolar thermal conductivity of pristine PbTe.  Thus, a low lattice thermal conductivity of 0.68 W m-1 K-1 is achieved at 673 K, combining scattering of alloys, grain boundaries, dislocations and defects.  Thus, the right synthesis conditions of the microwave hydrothermal method can rapidly result in thermoelectric materials with comparable figures of merit.
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