This study introduces a novel approach by systematically exploring the impact of rare earth element doping on the structural, thermoelectric, and electrical properties of vanadium pentoxide V₂O₅ nanocrystalline films. The investigation established a correlation between the introduction of these dopants and the observed enhancement in DC conductivity, thermoelectric and power factor. This endeavor offers valuable insights into conduction mechanisms, facilitating the identification of optimal parameters for fine-tuning thermoelectric devices and applications to improve their efficiency. The thermoelectric and electrical transport properties of V₂O₅ and 1 mol% RE-doped V₂O₅ (RE = La, Er, Yb) in the form of xRE-(1-x)V₂O₅·nH₂O nanocrystalline films were prepared using the sol–gel technique. Structural analysis via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed a nanostructure with decreased crystallite sizes (4.45 nm in the pristine film to an average of 3.51 nm in RE-doped nanocrystalline films). The rare-earth elements significantly enhanced the thermoelectric power factor by up to 21x times in La-doped nanocrystalline films compared to pristine nanocrystalline films, achieving ∼ 400 μW/K²m at 420 K. Concurrently, the DC conductivity increased dramatically with rare-earth doping, attributed to the lower activation energy (0.517 eV to 0.399 eV with La), enhanced pre-exponential factor, and increased density of states near the Fermi level (5.133 to 6.661 x10²¹eV⁻¹. cm³ with La), increased oxidation state C:V⁴⁺/V_total (0.14 to 0.53 with La), and increased carrier mobility (0.24 to 36.35 x10^-7cm²V^-1s⁻¹ with La). La doping yielded an optimal combination of structural and electrical modifications to maximize the conductivity compared to Er and Yb. The high-power factor of La-doped nanocrystalline films provides insight into their promising thermoelectric applications, such as thermoelectric generators, environmental temperature sensors and waste heat recovery systems.

本研究引入了一种新颖的方法，系统地探索稀土元素掺杂对五氧化二钒V ₂ O ₅纳米晶薄膜的结构、热电和电性能的影响。研究建立了这些掺杂剂的引入与观察到的直流电导率、热电和功率因数增强之间的相关性。这项工作为传导机制提供了宝贵的见解，有助于确定微调热电设备和应用的最佳参数，以提高其效率。_{xRE-(1-x ) V 2} O 5 ·nH ₂ O形式的V ₂ O ₅和1 mol% RE掺杂V ₂ O ₅ (RE = La, Er, Yb)的热电和电传输特性采用溶胶-凝胶技术制备纳米晶薄膜。通过 X 射线衍射 (XRD) 和高分辨率透射电子显微镜 (HRTEM) 进行的结构分析揭示了微晶尺寸减小的纳米结构（原始薄膜中为 4.45 nm，稀土掺杂纳米晶薄膜中平均为 3.51 nm）。与原始纳米晶薄膜相比，稀土元素显着提高了 La 掺杂纳米晶薄膜的热电功率因数高达 21 倍，在 420 K 时达到 ∼ 400 μW/K ² m。同时，直流电导率随着稀土元素的存在而急剧增加。地球掺杂，归因于较低的活化能（La 为 0.517 eV 至 0.399 eV）、增强的指前因子以及费米能级附近增加的态密度（La 为 5.133 至 6.661 x10 21 ^eV -1 ^. cm ³），氧化态C:V ⁴⁺ /V_总计增加（La为0.14至0.53），并且载流子迁移率增加（La为0.24至36.35 x10 ^-7 cm ² V ^-1 s ^-1）。与 Er 和 Yb 相比，La 掺杂产生了结构和电学修改的最佳组合，以最大限度地提高电导率。掺La纳米晶薄膜的高功率因数使其具有广阔的热电应用前景，例如热电发电机、环境温度传感器和废热回收系统。