10.1021/la101952y.s001 Jekaterina Kuleshova Jekaterina Kuleshova Elena Koukharenko Elena Koukharenko Xiaohong Li Xiaohong Li Nicole Frety Nicole Frety Iris S. Nandhakumar Iris S. Nandhakumar John Tudor John Tudor Steve P. Beeby Steve P. Beeby Neil M. White Neil M. White Optimization of the Electrodeposition Process of High-Performance Bismuth Antimony Telluride Compounds for Thermoelectric Applications American Chemical Society 2010 stoichiometric composition sodium ligninsulfonate microstructural properties Bi 0.35Sb nitric acid electroplating baths Bi 0.32Sb bismuth antimony telluride surfactant microprobe analysis films electrodeposited Electrodeposition Process 2010-11-16 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Optimization_of_the_Electrodeposition_Process_of_High_Performance_Bismuth_Antimony_Telluride_Compounds_for_Thermoelectric_Applications/2712754 High-quality films of bismuth antimony telluride were synthesized by electrodeposition from nitric acid electroplating baths. The influence of a surfactant, sodium ligninsulfonate, on the structure, morphology, stoichiometry, and homogeneity of the deposited films has been investigated. It was found that addition of this particular surfactant significantly improved the microstructural properties as well as homogeneity of the films with a significant improvement in the thermoelectric properties over those deposited in the absence of surfactant. A detailed microprobe analysis of the deposited films yielded a stoichiometric composition of Bi<sub>0.35</sub>Sb<sub>1.33</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> for the films electrodeposited in the absence of surfactant and a stoichiometry of Bi<sub>0.32</sub>Sb<sub>1.33</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> for films deposited in the presence of surfactant.