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A2: Medium temperature materials
Copper sulfide (Cu2-xS) has shown promise as a thermoelectric material due to its complex atomic structure in addition to its non-toxicity and earth-abundant sources. This study introduces a simple synthesis step that produces different copper composition (x ~ 0.04 – 0.25) through manipulation of reaction temperature. The synthesis step followed by cold-press and sintering produces Cu2-xS product having dimensionless figure of merit (zT) as high as 0.7 at 673K. This is currently the highest value reported for this material system. The composition of Cu2-xS has been extensively determined by various analytical techniques including X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Hall measurement. The results offer a new strategy and direction for the future development of this thermoelectric material.