| Abstract Scope |
High-performance thermoelectrics need high electrical conductivity, high Seebeck coefficient, and low thermal conductivity to achieve a superior figure-of-merit (zT). New thermoelectric materials and processing techniques are needed to fulfill these properties. Microwave processing is a transformative approach that achieves these goals. However, many researchers have not been able to fully leverage its advantages due to the difficulty in producing large, uniform thermoelectric samples, as non-uniform heating typically limits the sample size to only a few millimeters. This study addresses these issues by utilizing rapid volumetric heating throughout the material, leading to homogeneity in the composition of a bulk sample of (Bi<sub>x</sub>Sb<sub>1-x</sub>)<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>. Microstructural and quantitative elemental analyses across the bulk of the sample demonstrate a uniform distribution of elements with minimal compositional variations. This study promotes homogeneous reaction kinetics, enabling compositional uniformity, thus offering a promising pathway toward scalable and controlled synthesis of next-generation thermoelectric materials. |