| Thermoelectric materials have been studied vigorously since the 1950s. Recent advances in materials synthesis and theory have rejuvinated the field in the last decade. The thermoelectric properties of materials are related to their electronic structure. In addition, many of these materials behave quasi-low-dimensionally, making them ideal candidates for study using angle resolved and angle integrated photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES and AIPES). We report the first detailed study of the valence band electronic structure of Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3 and CsBi 4Te6 using ARPES and AIPES. Experimental results are compared with local density approximation (LDA) band structure calculations and (when available) with de Haas-van Alphen and Shubnikov-de Haas experiments.;Bi2Te3 is currently the best room temperature thermoelectric material known. Dispersions of the valence bands were determined using ARPES. A six-fold k-space degeneracy in the valence band maximum is found. The quasi-two-dimensional nature of the electronic structure was demonstrated by the weakly dispersive bands along the Gamma-Z direction. The density of states (DOS) for this material was also studied using AIPES. Spectra were taken at multiple photon energies. Six valence band peaks were found. Good correspondence with the calculated DOS was found.;Bi2Se3 is isostructural to Bi2Te 3 but its thermoelectric performance is significantly worse. The valence band dispersions for this material have been determined, as well as the DOS. We find the valence band maximum to be located at Gamma. Ten easily identifiable bands are seen within 4 eV of the Fermi level. The energy bands in the Gamma-Z direction are found to be flatter than those predicted by theory. The APES measurements revealed a total of nine bands, which correspond well to the calculated DOS.;CsBi4Te6 is a novel thermoelectric material, recently discovered in the chemistry department of Michigan State University. This material exhibits quasi-one-dimensional behavior, which is related to its unique crystal structure. The highly anisotropic band dispersions might explain the large value of the figure of merit, ZT, observed in the hole-doped systems. The APES spectra show several large features, which are in qualitative agreement with the calculated DOS. |
