Wide-temperature-range thermoelectric n-type Mg<sub>3</sub>(Sb,Bi)<sub>2</sub> with high average and peak zT values.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37973881.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-43228-9 and PMC identifier 10654674.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Mg<sub>3</sub>(Sb,Bi)<sub>2</sub> is a promising thermoelectric material suited for electronic cooling, but there is still room to optimize its low-temperature performance. This work realizes >200% enhancement in room-temperature zT by incorporating metallic inclusions (Nb or Ta) into the Mg<sub>3</sub>(Sb,Bi)<sub>2</sub>-based matrix. The electrical conductivity is boosted in the range of 300-450 K, whereas the corresponding Seebeck coefficients remain unchanged, leading to an exceptionally high room-temperature power factor >30 μW cm<sup>-1</sup> K<sup>-2</sup>; such an unusual effect originates mainly from the modified interfacial barriers. The reduced interfacial barriers are conducive to carrier transport at low and high temperatures. Furthermore, benefiting from the reduced lattice thermal conductivity, a record-high average zT > 1.5 and a maximum zT of 2.04 at 798 K are achieved, resulting in a high thermoelectric conversion efficiency of 15%. This work demonstrates an efficient nanocomposite strategy to enhance the wide-temperature-range thermoelectric performance of n-type Mg<sub>3</sub>(Sb,Bi)<sub>2</sub>, broadening their potential for practical applications.