ABSTRACTThermoelectric CuIn1-xAlxTe2 compounds (x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.50) have been synthesized by solid state reaction followed by spark plasma sintering. The influence of Al substitution on electrical and thermal transport properties has been investigated in the CuInTe2 compounds. It was found that the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity is reduced by isovalent replacement of In with Al. Our first principle calculation indicates Al substitution leads to the widen band gap, the reduction in the number of degeneracy of valence band and the effective mass. Furthermore, a large reduction in thermal conductivity is achieved through the enhanced phonon scattering via point defect as well as the nano-sized particles observed between grain boundaries and on the grain surface. In spite of the reduced charge transport properties, an improved figure-of- merit ZT is achieved, reaching 0.8 at 800 K, 33% higher in comparison to the pure CuInTe2 compound.
