Temperature-Adaptive Carrier Regulation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type PbTe via Deep-Shallow Co-Doping

Song, Aihua; Zhao, Peng; Wang, Binhao; Wang, Dan; Chen, Chen; Shen, Tao; Li, Hang; Xu, Bo; Tian, Yongjun

doi:10.3390/ma19132832

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Temperature-Adaptive Carrier Regulation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type PbTe via Deep-Shallow Co-Doping

by

Aihua Song

¹,

Peng Zhao

^1,*

,

Binhao Wang

²,

Dan Wang

¹,

Chen Chen

¹,

Tao Shen

¹,

Hang Li

¹,

Bo Xu

^1,*

and

Yongjun Tian

¹

Center for High Pressure Science (CHiPS), State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

²

State Key Laboratory for High Performance Tools, Zhengzhou Abrasive Grinding Research Institute Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou 450001, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Materials 2026, 19(13), 2832; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19132832

Submission received: 7 June 2026 / Revised: 28 June 2026 / Accepted: 1 July 2026 / Published: 2 July 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials Physics in Thermoelectric Materials, Second Edition)

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Abstract

Optimizing the carrier concentration across the entire operating temperature range is crucial for maximizing the power factor in n-type PbTe. However, conventional shallow donors produce a nearly temperature-invariant electron concentration, leading to an increasingly large deviation from the optimal carrier concentration at elevated temperatures. Herein, we implement a dynamic deep-shallow co-doping strategy by combining iodine (a shallow donor) with gallium (a deep-level donor) in PbTe. The Ga-related deep impurity states thermally ionize at elevated temperatures, providing additional electrons and driving the Hall carrier concentration above ~563 K toward its temperature-dependent optimum. Concurrently, our optimized synthesis preserves a high carrier mobility, which synergistically sustains a remarkable peak power factor of 30 μW·cm⁻¹·K⁻² for the optimal composition, Ga_0.02Pb_0.98Te_0.996I_0.004. Combined with a strongly suppressed lattice thermal conductivity, this results in a maximum figure of merit (ZT) of 1.41 at 803 K and an average ZT of 1.00 within 400–773 K for Ga_0.02Pb_0.97Te_0.996I_0.004—a 25% improvement over the I-only doped baseline. These findings establish deep-shallow co-doping as a robust and broadly applicable carrier-engineering paradigm for thermoelectric optimization.

Keywords: thermoelectric materials; n-type PbTe; Ga/I co-doping; carrier concentration; power factor

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MDPI and ACS Style

Song, A.; Zhao, P.; Wang, B.; Wang, D.; Chen, C.; Shen, T.; Li, H.; Xu, B.; Tian, Y. Temperature-Adaptive Carrier Regulation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type PbTe via Deep-Shallow Co-Doping. Materials 2026, 19, 2832. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19132832

AMA Style

Song A, Zhao P, Wang B, Wang D, Chen C, Shen T, Li H, Xu B, Tian Y. Temperature-Adaptive Carrier Regulation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type PbTe via Deep-Shallow Co-Doping. Materials. 2026; 19(13):2832. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19132832

Chicago/Turabian Style

Song, Aihua, Peng Zhao, Binhao Wang, Dan Wang, Chen Chen, Tao Shen, Hang Li, Bo Xu, and Yongjun Tian. 2026. "Temperature-Adaptive Carrier Regulation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type PbTe via Deep-Shallow Co-Doping" Materials 19, no. 13: 2832. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19132832

APA Style

Song, A., Zhao, P., Wang, B., Wang, D., Chen, C., Shen, T., Li, H., Xu, B., & Tian, Y. (2026). Temperature-Adaptive Carrier Regulation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type PbTe via Deep-Shallow Co-Doping. Materials, 19(13), 2832. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19132832

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Temperature-Adaptive Carrier Regulation and Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance in n-Type PbTe via Deep-Shallow Co-Doping

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