Abstract
Uniform single-crystal lead telluride (PbTe) nanowires (NWs) were synthesized using a stress-induced method, which is an alternative technique for synthesizing PbTe NWs without a catalyst. The thermoelectrical transport measurement of a NW with a diameter of 217 nm exhibited a notable enhancement over the room-temperature thermopower of -342 μV K -1 , which was approximately 95% larger than the bulk of PbTe. The power factor of 104 μW m -1 K -2 is also higher than any previously reported power factor in PbTe NWs. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.