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Verma AK, Johari KK, Dubey P, Sharma DK, Kumar S, Dhakate SR, Candolfi C, Lenoir B, Gahtori B. Realization of Band Convergence in p-Type TiCoSb Half-Heusler Alloys Significantly Enhances the Thermoelectric Performance. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:942-952. [PMID: 36542089 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c16721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Band engineering is a promising approach that proved successful in enhancing the thermoelectric performance of several families of thermoelectric materials. Here, we show how this mechanism can be induced in the p-type TiCoSbhalf-Heusler (HH) compound to effectively improve the Seebeck coefficient. Both the Pisarenko plot and electronic band structure calculations demonstrate that this enhancement is due to increased density-of-states effective mass resulting from the convergence of two valence band maxima. Our calculations evidence that the valence band maximum of TiCoSb lying at the Γ point exhibits a small energy difference of 51 meV with respect to the valence band edge at the L point. Experimentally, this energy offset can be tuned by both Fe and Sn substitutions on the Co and Sb site, respectively. A Sn doping level as low as x = 0.03 is sufficient to drive more than ∼100% increase in the power factor at room temperature. Further, defects at various length scales, that include point defects, edge dislocations, and nanosized grains evidenced by electron microscopy (field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM)), result in enhanced phonon scattering which substantially reduces the lattice thermal conductivity to ∼4.2 W m-1 K-1 at 873 K. Combined with enhanced power factor, a peak ZT value of ∼0.4 was achieved at 873 K in TiCo0.85Fe0.15Sb0.97Sn0.03. In addition, the microhardness and fracture toughness were found to be enhanced for all of the synthesized samples, falling in the range of 8.3-8.6 GPa and 1.8-2 MPa·m-1/2, respectively. Our results highlight how the combination of band convergence and microstructure engineering in the HH alloy TiCoSb is effective for tuning its thermoelectric performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Kumar Verma
- CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi-110012, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad-201002, India
- Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group and the Micro Nano Research Facility, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria3001, Australia
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, Victoria3001, Australia
| | - Kishor Kumar Johari
- CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi-110012, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad-201002, India
| | - Paritosh Dubey
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad-201002, India
- CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur831007, India
| | - Durgesh Kumar Sharma
- Applied Physics Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, M. J. P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly243006, India
| | - Sudhir Kumar
- Applied Physics Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, M. J. P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly243006, India
| | - Sanjay Rangnate Dhakate
- CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi-110012, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad-201002, India
| | - Christophe Candolfi
- Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS─Université de Lorraine Campus ARTEM, 2 allée André Guinier, BP 50840, Nancy54011, France
| | - Bertrand Lenoir
- Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS─Université de Lorraine Campus ARTEM, 2 allée André Guinier, BP 50840, Nancy54011, France
| | - Bhasker Gahtori
- CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi-110012, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad-201002, India
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Dong Z, Luo J, Wang C, Jiang Y, Tan S, Zhang Y, Grin Y, Yu Z, Guo K, Zhang J, Zhang W. Half-Heusler-like compounds with wide continuous compositions and tunable p- to n-type semiconducting thermoelectrics. Nat Commun 2022; 13:35. [PMID: 35013264 PMCID: PMC8748599 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27795-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Half-Heusler and full-Heusler compounds were considered as independent phases with a natural composition gap. Here we report the discovery of TiRu1+xSb (x = 0.15 ~ 1.0) solid solution with wide homogeneity range and tunable p- to n-type semiconducting thermoelectrics, which bridges the composition gap between half- and full-Heusler phases. At the high-Ru end, strange glass-like thermal transport behavior with unusually low lattice thermal conductivity (~1.65 Wm−1K−1 at 340 K) is observed for TiRu1.8Sb, being the lowest among reported half-Heusler phases. In the composition range of 0.15 < x < 0.50, TiRu1+xSb shows abnormal semiconducting behaviors because tunning Ru composition results in band structure change and carrier-type variation simultaneously, which seemingly correlates with the localized d electrons. This work reveals the possibility of designing fascinating half-Heusler-like materials by manipulating the tetrahedral site occupancy, and also demonstrates the potential of tuning crystal and electronic structures simultaneously to realize intriguing physical properties. Half-and full-Heusler compounds are considered as independent phases with a natural composition gap. Here the authors report the discovery of half-Heusler-like TiRu1+xSb with wide continuous compositions falling in the gap region and tunable p-to n-type semiconducting thermoelectrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zirui Dong
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Jun Luo
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China. .,Materials Genome Institute, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China.
| | - Chenyang Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Ying Jiang
- Materials Genome Institute, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Shihua Tan
- Department of Physics and Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Yubo Zhang
- Department of Physics and Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.,Guangdong Provincial Key Lab for Computational Science and Materials Design, and Shenzhen Municipal Key-Lab for Advanced Quantum Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Yuri Grin
- Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Nöthnitzer Straße 40, 01187, Dresden, Germany
| | - Zhiyang Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Kai Guo
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Jiye Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Wenqing Zhang
- Department of Physics and Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China. .,Guangdong Provincial Key Lab for Computational Science and Materials Design, and Shenzhen Municipal Key-Lab for Advanced Quantum Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
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Hobbis D, Hermann RP, Wang H, Parker DS, Pandey T, Martin J, Page K, Nolas GS. Structural, Chemical, Electrical, and Thermal Properties of n-Type NbFeSb. Inorg Chem 2019; 58:1826-1833. [PMID: 30649868 PMCID: PMC6996019 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.8b02531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We report on the structural, chemical, electrical, and thermal properties of n-type polycrystalline NbFeSb synthesized by induction melting of the elements. Although several studies on p-type conduction of this half-Heusler composition have recently been reported, including reports of relatively high thermoelectric properties, very little has been reported on the transport properties of n-type compositions. We combine transport property investigations together with short- and long-range structural data obtained by Mössbauer spectroscopy of iron-57 and antimony-121 and by neutron total scattering, as well as first-principles calculations. In our investigation, we show that n-type conduction can occur from antiphase boundaries in this material. This work is intended to provide a greater understanding of the fundamental properties of NbFeSb as this material continues to be of interest for potential thermoelectric applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean Hobbis
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
| | - Raphael P. Hermann
- Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Hsin Wang
- Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - David S. Parker
- Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Tribhuwan Pandey
- Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Joshua Martin
- Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Katharine Page
- Neutron Scattering Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6475, United States
| | - George S. Nolas
- Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
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