{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T17:28:13Z","timestamp":1775755693198,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,16]],"date-time":"2025-02-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739664000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this work, we developed nanostructured Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 thin films by thermal co-evaporation of their alloys with corresponding pure elements (Bi, Sb, and Te). The films were fabricated on borosilicate glass at different substrate temperatures and deposition rates. At 300 \u00b0C, enhanced thermoelectric performance was demonstrated for n-type Bi2Te3:Bi and p-type Sb2Te3:Te, with Seebeck coefficients of 195 \u00b5V K\u22121 and 178 \u03bcV K\u22121, along with electrical conductivities of 4.6 \u00d7 104 (\u03a9 m)\u22121 and 6.9 \u00d7 104 (\u03a9 m)\u22121, resulting in maximum power factor values of 1.75 mW K\u22122 m\u22121 and 2.19 mW K\u22122 m\u22121, respectively. These values are found to be higher than some reported works in the literature, highlighting the advantage of not introducing additional elements to the system (such as extra doping, which induces complexity to the system). The structural properties, film morphology, and chemical composition of the optimized films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The films were found to be polycrystalline with preferred (0 0 6) and (0 1 5) orientations for Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 films, respectively, and stable rhombohedral phases. Additionally, a ring-shaped p-n thermoelectric device for localized heating\/cooling was developed and a temperature difference of ~7 \u00b0C between the hot and cold zones was obtained using 4.8 mA of current (J = 0.068 mA\/mm2).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nano15040299","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,17]],"date-time":"2025-02-17T07:48:22Z","timestamp":1739778502000},"page":"299","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Toward Enhancing the Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 Alloys by Co-Evaporation of Bi2Te3:Bi and Sb2Te3:Te"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-1701-3396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bernardo S.","family":"Dores","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CMEMS\u2014UMINHO, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1752-2687","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marino J.","family":"Maciel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CMEMS\u2014UMINHO, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"},{"name":"LABBELS\u2014Associate Laboratory, 4710-057 Braga\/Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5991-1069","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 H.","family":"Correia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CMEMS\u2014UMINHO, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"},{"name":"LABBELS\u2014Associate Laboratory, 4710-057 Braga\/Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Eliana M. F.","family":"Vieira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CMEMS\u2014UMINHO, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"},{"name":"LABBELS\u2014Associate Laboratory, 4710-057 Braga\/Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ripple, W.J., Wolf, C., Newsome, T.M., Barnard, P., and Moomaw, W.R. (2020). Corrigendum: World Scientists\u2019 Warning of a Climate Emergency. Bioscience, 70.","DOI":"10.1093\/biosci\/biz088"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"471","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jallcom.2019.07.147","article-title":"Promising materials for thermoelectric applications","volume":"806","author":"Cai","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Alloys Compd."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1267","DOI":"10.1109\/TCPMT.2021.3095048","article-title":"Materials and Devices for On-Chip and Off-Chip Peltier Cooling: A Review","volume":"11","author":"Nimmagadda","year":"2021","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Compon. Packag. Manuf. Technol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25080","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.3c18496","article-title":"Microheater Chips with Carbon Nanotube Resistors","volume":"16","author":"Zhao","year":"2024","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102225","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apmt.2024.102225","article-title":"A role of integrated microheaters in a microfluidics based point-of-care-testing and beyond for healthcare applications","volume":"38","author":"Kulkarni","year":"2024","journal-title":"Appl. Mater. Today"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116102","DOI":"10.1063\/1.5040398","article-title":"Note: Double-layered polyimide film heater with low magnetic field generation","volume":"89","author":"Yim","year":"2018","journal-title":"Rev. Sci. Instrum."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2073","DOI":"10.1007\/s11434-014-0237-2","article-title":"Recent progress in thermoelectric materials","volume":"59","author":"Han","year":"2014","journal-title":"Chin. Sci. Bull."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tsf.2019.01.010","article-title":"Structural, electrical, optical and thermoelectric properties of e-beam evaporated Bi-rich Bi2Te3 thin films","volume":"672","author":"Sudarshan","year":"2019","journal-title":"Thin Solid Film"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"051901","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0074419","article-title":"Epitaxial growth and thermoelectric properties of Mg3Bi2 thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering","volume":"120","author":"Sadowski","year":"2022","journal-title":"Appl. Phys. Lett."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1002\/cey2.161","article-title":"Construction of a cement\u2013rebar nanoarchitecture for a solution-processed and flexible film of a Bi2Te3\/CNT hybrid toward low thermal conductivity and high thermoelectric performance","volume":"4","author":"Chen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Carbon Energy"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16039","DOI":"10.1039\/D3TA02876C","article-title":"Flexible Bi2Te3 \/PEDOT nanowire sandwich-like films towards high-performance wearable cross-plane thermoelectric generator and temperature sensor array","volume":"11","author":"Du","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Mater. Chem. A"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166575","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jallcom.2022.166575","article-title":"Energy harvesting from human body heat using highly flexible thermoelectric generator based on Bi2Te3 particles and polymer composite","volume":"924","author":"Na","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Alloys Compd."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163918","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jallcom.2022.163918","article-title":"A comprehensive review on the effects of doping process on the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 based alloys","volume":"904","author":"Saberi","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Alloys Compd."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"618","article-title":"Realizing high thermoelectric performance in n-type Bi2Te3 based thin films via post-selenization diffusion","volume":"9","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Mater."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2308056","DOI":"10.1002\/advs.202308056","article-title":"Boosting Thermoelectric Performance of Bi2Te3 Material by Microstructure Engineering","volume":"11","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv. Sci."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ferrer-Argemi, L., Yu, Z., Kim, J., Myung, N.V., Lim, J.-H., and Lee, J. (2019). Silver content dependent thermal conductivity and thermoelectric properties of electrodeposited antimony telluride thin films. Sci. Rep., 9.","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-019-45697-9"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"365701","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-648X\/ad4f3b","article-title":"Tuning of thermoelectric performance by modulating vibrational properties in Ni-doped Sb2Te3","volume":"36","author":"Mukherjee","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Phys. Condens. Matter"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ensm.2023.02.003","article-title":"A comprehensive review of foreign-ion doping and recent achievements for nickel-rich cathode materials","volume":"57","author":"Cui","year":"2023","journal-title":"Energy Storage Mater."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"015307","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0186252","article-title":"Pressure and chemical doping induced phase transition and phonon dynamics of multiferroic Bi5Ti3FeO15 ceramics","volume":"14","author":"Bian","year":"2024","journal-title":"AIP Adv."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2103385","DOI":"10.1002\/aenm.202103385","article-title":"Achieving High Thermoelectric Performance by NaSbTe2 Alloying in GeTe for Simultaneous Suppression of Ge Vacancies and Band Tailoring","volume":"12","author":"Duan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Adv. Energy Mater."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26104","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.3c01404","article-title":"Boosting Thermoelectric Performance in Epitaxial GeTe Film\/Si by Domain Engineering and Point Defect Control","volume":"15","author":"Ishibe","year":"2023","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jallcom.2017.12.011","article-title":"Enhanced thermoelectric performance of SnTe thin film through designing oriented nanopillar structure","volume":"737","author":"Xu","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Alloys Compd."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1102","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jallcom.2018.09.324","article-title":"Enhanced thermoelectric properties of Sb2Te3 and Bi2Te3 films for flexible thermal sensors","volume":"774","author":"Vieira","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Alloys Compd."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38946","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.9b13254","article-title":"High-Performance \u03bc-Thermoelectric Device Based on Bi2Te3\/Sb2Te3 p\u2013n Junctions","volume":"11","author":"Vieira","year":"2019","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"201","DOI":"10.1186\/s11671-016-1411-z","article-title":"High Seebeck Coefficient of Porous Silicon: Study of the Porosity Dependence","volume":"11","author":"Valalaki","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nanoscale Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1800904","DOI":"10.1002\/aelm.201800904","article-title":"The Thermoelectric Properties of Bismuth Telluride","volume":"5","author":"Witting","year":"2019","journal-title":"Adv. Electron. Mater."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124307","DOI":"10.1063\/1.3147870","article-title":"Thermoelectric properties of Bi\u2013Te films with controlled structure and morphology","volume":"105","author":"Bailini","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Appl. Phys."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"195203","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevB.75.195203","article-title":"Structures and thermoelectric properties of the infinitely adaptive series (Bi2)m(Bi2Te3)n","volume":"75","author":"Bos","year":"2007","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. B"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114903","DOI":"10.1063\/1.1914948","article-title":"Thermoelectric performance of films in the bismuth-tellurium and antimony-tellurium systems","volume":"97","author":"Kaviany","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Appl. Phys."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2750","DOI":"10.1039\/C7CE00192D","article-title":"Doping amount dependence of phase formation and microstructure evolution in heavily Cu-doped Bi 2 Te 3 films for thermoelectric applications","volume":"19","author":"Seo","year":"2017","journal-title":"CrystEngComm"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153027","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jallcom.2019.153027","article-title":"High-performance bismuth telluride thermoelectric thin films fabricated by using the two-step single-source thermal evaporation","volume":"819","author":"Fan","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Alloys Compd."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106719","DOI":"10.1016\/j.icheatmasstransfer.2023.106719","article-title":"High thermoelectric power factor of Sr doped Bi2Te3 thin film through energy filtering effect","volume":"143","author":"Ashfaq","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. Commun. Heat Mass Transf."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111439","DOI":"10.1016\/j.inoche.2023.111439","article-title":"Enhanced the thermoelectric power factor of n-type Bi2Te3 thin film via energy filtering effect","volume":"157","author":"Almufarij","year":"2023","journal-title":"Inorg. Chem. Commun."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124486","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jssc.2023.124486","article-title":"Enhanced thermoelectric performance of Mg and Se co-doped Bi2Te3 nanostructures","volume":"330","author":"Rani","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Solid State Chem."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4160","DOI":"10.1039\/D3SE00548H","article-title":"Electrodeposited CuSbTe thin films with enhanced thermoelectric performance","volume":"7","author":"Tanwar","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sustain. Energy Fuels"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"564954","DOI":"10.1155\/2015\/564954","article-title":"Influence of Deposition Rate on the Thermoelectric Properties of Sb 2 Te 3 Thin Films by Thermal Evaporation Method","volume":"2015","author":"Lin","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Nanomater."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2669","DOI":"10.1007\/s11664-021-08788-w","article-title":"Thermoelectric Properties of Ag-Doped Sb2Te3 Thin Films on SiO2 and Polyimide Substrates with Rapid Thermal Annealing","volume":"50","author":"Thaowonkaew","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Electron. Mater."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114505","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physe.2020.114505","article-title":"Preparation and thermoelectric power properties of highly doped p-type Sb2Te3 thin films","volume":"127","author":"Adam","year":"2021","journal-title":"Phys. E Low-Dimens. Syst. Nanostructures"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wei, M., Zhong, Y., Zhao, G., Fan, P., Ao, D., Zheng, Z., and Chen, Y. (2023). Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties of Sb2Te3 Thin Films by In Doping. Coatings, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings13101784"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.20517\/ss.2023.34","article-title":"A facile in-situ reaction method for preparing flexible Sb2Te3 thermoelectric thin films","volume":"4","author":"Ao","year":"2024","journal-title":"Soft Sci."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102","DOI":"10.1107\/S0021889878012844","article-title":"Scherrer after sixty years: A survey and some new results in the determination of crystallite size","volume":"11","author":"Langford","year":"1978","journal-title":"J. Appl. Crystallogr."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ohring, M. (1992). Materials Science of Thin Films, Academic Press.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-08-051118-4.50012-8"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"021301","DOI":"10.1063\/1.4757907","article-title":"Crystallinity of inorganic films grown by atomic layer deposition: Overview and general trends","volume":"113","author":"Miikkulainen","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Appl. Phys."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1110","DOI":"10.1109\/JMEMS.2005.851846","article-title":"Fabrication and measured performance of a first-generation microthermoelectric cooler","volume":"14","author":"Kaviany","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Microelectromechanical Syst."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"176","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sna.2008.07.017","article-title":"Development of low-cost micro-thermoelectric coolers utilizing MEMS technology","volume":"148","author":"Huang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators A Phys."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"526","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tsf.2013.08.091","article-title":"Improved performance of thermoelectric micro-device by integrating a layered Bi2Te3 film","volume":"548","author":"Tan","year":"2013","journal-title":"Thin Solid Film."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"766","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nanoen.2018.06.020","article-title":"Fabrication and excellent performances of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3\/epoxy flexible thermoelectric cooling devices","volume":"50","author":"Hou","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nano Energy"}],"container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-4991\/15\/4\/299\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T16:35:25Z","timestamp":1760027725000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-4991\/15\/4\/299"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,16]]},"references-count":47,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2]]}},"alternative-id":["nano15040299"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/nano15040299","relation":{},"ISSN":["2079-4991"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2079-4991","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,16]]}}}