Thermoelectric technology is becoming one of the important elements in sustainable energy due to its capability in green conversion of waste heat into electricity. Solid solution alloys based on Bi2Te3 have been some of the most efficient thermoelectric materials near the room temperature for many years. Recently there have been advances in the thermoelectric efficiency of (BixSb1-x)2Te3 alloy via bulk nanostructuring. The fabrication process of the alloy from elements of Bi, Sb, and Te often involves mechanical alloying with extensive milling time. This process is slow and consumes significant electric power. Here we report and compare three different methods to prepare powders of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 binary alloys and (BixSb1-x)2Te3 ternary alloys: conventional high energy mechanical milling and two alternative methods namely induction melting and thermomechanical method.. In all three methods the obtained powders are single phase and possess good homogeneity. Efficiency and advantages of different methods have been discussed. Alternative techniques introduced in this work provide a more efficient approach with higher yield for large scale preparation of (BixSb1-x)2Te3 thermoelectric structures.
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