thermoelectric properties of hot-pressed β-k2bi8se13−x s x materials

in this work, hot-pressed pellets of the k2bi8se13 family of compounds were prepared for the first time. the pellet fabrication of selected members of the k2bi8se13−x s x series was studied. sintering parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and duration, were investigated based on a statistical design- of-experiments approach to identify the optimum conditions for fabrication of high-quality pellets. these optimum conditions were then applied for the k2bi8se13−x s x series, and the thermoelectric properties of the stoichiometric members for x = 0, 4, 6, and 8 were studied. doping experiments were also investigated using sulfur excess in the x = 6 member in an attempt to modify its properties.