Part X – October 1968 - Papers - The Sb-TI-Te System: Phase Relations and Transport Properties in the Tellurium-Rich Region

The tellurium-rich region of the Sb-TI-Te ternary system was investigated by means of DTA, metallo-graphic, X-ray, and electron beam microprobe techniques on the sections Sb2Te3-T12Te3, SbTlTe2-Te, SbT1Te2-Sb2Te3, and SbTlTe2-T12Te3. The phase behavior of this region is summarized in terms of four ternary invariant reactions and a schematic reaction diagram is suggested. Isopleths for the sections SbT1Te2-Sb2Te3, Sb2Te,-T12Te3, and SbTlTe2-Te were constructed, and a schematic diagram of the projections of the liquidus lines and invariant planes is presented. No evidence was found to support the existence of the ternary compound "SbTlTe3", or pseudo-binary behavior of the section T12Te3-Sb2Te3, as reported by Borisova and Efremova. Electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity measurements were made at room temperature on fully annealed samples. 1 HE phase relationships in chalcogenides are often complex and difficult to resolve, particularly since the approach to equilibrium is a rather slow process. For example, the phase diagram of the T1-Te binary system was in doubt until clarified by Rabenau et al.,1 the phase fields at compositions near Bi2Te3 in the Bi-Te binary system have only recently been satisfactorily elucidated by Glatz,2 and there may still be some question as to the extent of the Sb2Te3 field in the Sb-Te system.3-5 In ternary systems, the existence of the compound "AgFeTe2" was the subject of a number of conflicting reports6-8 and the stoichiometry of the composition "AgSbTe2" was in doubt for a period of time.9 Recently, questions have arisen regarding the existence of certain compounds in the ternary systems Bi-Tl-Te10-14 and Sb-Tl-Te.15 The impetus for studies of these latter systems stemmed from the report of Borisova et a1.10 of a congruently melting ternary compound, "BiTlTe3", which apparently had extremely favorable thermoelectric properties for room-temperature cooling applications. Attempts by other investigators to produce the compound or confirm the transport properties proved to be unsuccessful.12-14 Recently, Chiang and Gluck14 reported studies of the phase relations in the tellurium-rich region of the Bi-T1-Te system which indicated that the section T12Te3-Bi2Te3 was not pseudobinary as suggested by Borisova et a1.10 The contention of Spitzer and sykes12 was supported that the composition "BiT1Te3" was multiphase, with the primary constituent actually being BiTlTe2, a compound whose existence has been well demonstrated.16,17 The investigation reported in the present paper was prompted by a later report of Borisova and Efremova15 on a similar study of the section T12Te3-Sb2Te3 from the Sb-T1-Te system. They also claimed this section to be pseudobinary, and that a ternary compound "SbTlTe," was formed peritectically. Some "preliminary" crystallographic data were given for the compound and thermoelectric transport properties were presented. In view of the questions concerning the behavior of the Bi-T1-Te system and the existence of the compound "BiT1Te3" it was suspected that the Sb-T1-Te system might behave in a similar fashion, particularly in light of the known existence of a compound SbT1Te2, iso-structural with BiT1Te2.17 Consequently, an investigation was undertaken to clarify the phase relationships in the tellurium-rich region of the Sb-T1-Te system. It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of this study, including a representation of the phase relations, isopleths for various composition sections, and the determination of some phase compositions and transport properties. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Commercially available high-purity (99.999+ pct) elements, purchased from the American Smelting and Refining Co., were used for the sample preparation. All samples were made from thoroughly mixed powders of previously prepared master alloys: SbTlTe2, Te, Sb2Te3, and T12Te3. Stoichiometric quantities of the constituents for each 10-g sample were weighed into a specially cleaned fused silica tube and sealed under a vacuum of better than 5 x 10-5 torr. The sealed constituents were fused and reacted at 650° to 750°C for at least 4 hr under continuous agitation in a "rocking" furnace, and the resulting product was air-cooled. The tube was opened and the sample was ground to a powder. A portion of the powder was rebottled in a DTA tube under vacuum, and the rest of the material was similarly resealed in a separate tube, re-fused in the rocking furnace, and again cooled to make the ingots for electrical and microstructural studies. All samples were subjected to further heat treatments as discussed in the section on experimental results. Each DTA tube was made of 7-mm-OD fused silica tubing with a concentric 2-mm-ID depression about 4 mm long formed in the bottom to accommodate a thermocouple. The size of a DTA sample was 0.5 to 1.0 g. An Aminco Thermoanalyzer whose accuracy was within 2°C18 was used for the DTA measurements. The metallographic samples were prepared by conventional techniques. A solution of FeCL dissolved in a methanol-HC1 mixture was found to be the most satisfactory etchant. Electron beam microprobe scanning and point-count examinations were made on polished and unetched samples using an ARL Electron Microprobe at an electron beam voltage of 20 kv. The detectors were set to receive characteristic La1 radiation. Calibration standards of the pure elements were incorporated in each sample mount; quantitative point counts were calibrated by a method similar to Ziebold