TY  - EJOU
AU  - Lee, Donghyeon 
AU  - Kim, Jiu 
AU  - Jeong, Yong-Wook 
AU  - Shin, Miso 
AU  - Jeong, Yong Jin 

TI  - Enhancement of Thermoelectric Properties in N-Type and P-Type Ag–Te Nanocomposites via Stirring-Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis
T2  - Chalcogenide Letters

PY  - 2026
VL  - 23
IS  - 2
SN  - 1584-8663

AB  - Silver tellurides (Ag–Te) are promising low-temperature thermoelectric materials because their transport properties can be tuned by subtle compositional variations and nanostructuring. Here, we report a stirring-assisted hydrothermal route that enables controlled synthesis of n-type and p-type Ag–Te nanostructures by adjusting the Ag:Te precursor ratio and hydrodynamic conditions. Samples with Ag:Te ratios of 2:1 (Ag2/Te1) and 1:2 (Ag1/Te2) were synthesized at 120°C for 12 h, varying the stirring speed from 0 to 2000 rpm. X-ray diffraction confirms Ag<sub>2</sub>Te as the dominant phase for Ag2/Te1 across all conditions, while Te-rich Ag1/Te2 forms a composite mainly consisting of Te and Ag-deficient Ag<sub>5−x</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>. For morphology control, the stirring speed significantly alters the microstructural network of the Ag–Te. Moderate stirring (~500 rpm) promotes an interconnected nanowire/nanorod network, whereas higher stirring speeds introduce morphological disruption and secondary phases. Finally, room-temperature transport measurements show that 500 rpm maximizes the power factor for both conduction types: 207.31 μW/mK<sup>2</sup> for n-type Ag<sub>2</sub>Te and 95.83 μW/mK<sup>2</sup> for p-type Te/Ag<sub>5−x</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>. This work suggests that controlling the molar ratio of precusors and hydrodynamics during synthesis is a critical factor in optimizing the thermoelectric efficiency of silver tellurides.
KW  - Silver telluride; hydrothermal synthesis; thermoelectric; chalcogenide; stirring

DO  - 10.32604/cl.2026.077885