CALPHAD accelerated design of advanced full-Zintl thermoelectric device.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38368428.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-45869-w and PMC identifier 11258146.
- 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
Since thermoelectric materials have different physical and chemical properties, the design of contact layers requires dedicated efforts, and the welding temperatures are distinctly different. Therefore, a general interface design and connection technology can greatly facilitate the development of thermoelectric devices. Herein, we proposed a screening strategy for the contact materials based on the calculation of phase diagram method, and Mg<sub>2</sub>Ni has been identified as a matched contact layer for n-type Mg<sub>3</sub>Sb<sub>2</sub>-based materials. And this screening strategy can be effectively applied to other thermoelectric materials. By adopting the low-temperature sintering silver nanoparticles technology, the Zintl phase thermoelectric device can be fabricated at low temperature but operate at medium temperature. The single-leg n-type Mg<sub>3.15</sub>Co<sub>0.05</sub>SbBi<sub>0.99</sub>Se<sub>0.01</sub> device achieves an efficiency of ~13.3%, and a high efficiency of ~11% at the temperature difference of 430 K has been realized for the Zintl phase thermoelectric device comprised together with p-type Yb<sub>0.9</sub>Mg<sub>0.9</sub>Zn<sub>1.198</sub>Ag<sub>0.002</sub>Sb<sub>2</sub>. Additionally, the thermal aging and thermal cycle experiments proved the long-term reliability of the Mg<sub>2</sub>Ni/Mg<sub>3.15</sub>Co<sub>0.05</sub>SbBi<sub>0.99</sub>Se<sub>0.01</sub> interface and the nano-silver sintering joints. Our work paves an effective avenue for the development of advanced devices for thermoelectric power generation.