Search results for "thermoelectric"
showing 10 items of 188 documents
Segmented Thermoelectric Oxide-Based Module for High-Temperature Waste Heat Harvesting
2015
We report a high-performance thermoelectric (TE) oxide-based module using the segmentation of half-Heusler Ti_(0.3)Zr_(0.35)Hf_(0.35)CoSb_(0.8)Sn_(0.2) and misfit-layered cobaltite Ca_3Co_4O_(9+δ) as the p-leg and 2 % Al-doped ZnO as the n-leg. The maximum output power of a 4-couple segmented module at ΔT=700 K attains a value of approximately 6.5 kW m^(−2), which is three times higher than that of the best reported non-segmented oxide module. The TE properties of individual legs, as well as the interfacial contact resistances, were characterized as a function of temperature. Numerical modeling was used to predict the efficiency and to evaluate the influence of the electrical and thermal lo…
Rapid Microwave Preparation of Thermoelectric TiNiSn and TiCoSb Half-Heusler Compounds
2012
The 18-electron ternary intermetallic systems TiNiSn and TiCoSb are promising for applications as high-temperature thermoelectrics and comprise earth-abundant, and relatively nontoxic elements. Heusler and half-Heusler compounds are usually prepared by conventional solid state methods involving arc-melting and annealing at high temperatures for an extended period of time. Here, we report an energy-saving preparation route using a domestic microwave oven, reducing the reaction time significantly from more than a week to one minute. A microwave susceptor material rapidly heats the elemental starting materials inside an evacuated quartz tube resulting in near single phase compounds. The initia…
Enhanced thermoelectric properties of lightly Nb doped SrTiO3 thin films
2021
Novel thermoelectric materials developed for operation at room temperature must have similar or better performance along with being as ecofriendly as those commercially used, e.g., BiTe, in terms of their toxicity and cost. In this work, we present an in-depth study of the thermoelectric properties of epitaxial Nb-doped strontium titanate (SrTiNbO) thin films as a function of (i) doping concentration, (ii) film thickness and (iii) substrate type. The excellent crystal quality was confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The thermoelectric properties were measured by the three-omega method (thermal conductivity) and van der Pauw method (el…
Electronic transport properties of electron- and hole-doped semiconductingC1bHeusler compounds:NiTi1−xMxSn(M=Sc,V)
2010
The substitutional series of Heusler compounds ${\text{NiTi}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{M}_{x}\text{Sn}$ (where $M=\text{Sc},\text{V}$ and $0lx\ensuremath{\le}0.2$) were synthesized and investigated with respect to their electronic structure and transport properties. The results show the possibility to create $n$-type and $p$-type thermoelectrics within one Heusler compound. The electronic structure and transport properties were calculated by all-electron ab initio methods and compared to the measurements. Hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was carried out and the results are compared to the calculated electronic structure. Pure NiTiSn exhibits massive ``in gap'' states containing about 0.1 ele…
Large Tunneling Anisotropic Magneto-Seebeck Effect in a CoPt|MgO|Pt Tunnel Junction
2014
We theoretically investigate the Tunneling Anisotropic Magneto-Seebeck effect in a realistically-modeled CoPt|MgO|Pt tunnel junction using coherent transport calculations. For comparison we study the tunneling magneto-Seebeck effect in CoPt|MgO|CoPt as well. We find that the magneto-Seebeck ratio of CoPt|MgO|Pt exceeds that of CoPt|MgO|CoPt for small barrier thicknesses, reaching 175% at room temperature. This result provides a sharp contrast to the magnetoresistance, which behaves oppositely for all barrier thicknesses and differs by one order of magnitude between devices. Here the magnetoresistance results from differences in transmission brought upon by changing the tunnel junction's mag…
Tuning the carrier concentration for thermoelectrical application in the quaternary Heusler compound Co2TiAl(1−x)Six
2010
The family of half-metallic ferromagnets Co2TiZ exhibits exceptional transport properties. The investigated compounds Co2TiAl(1−x)Six (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) show Curie temperatures (TCs) that vary between 250 and 350 K, depending on the composition. Above TC the Seebeck coefficient remains constant. This makes them promising candidates for thermoelectric devices such as thermocouples with a tunable working range. The electrical resistivity data show an anomaly at TC which is attributed to changes in the electronic structure and therefore in the carrier concentration.
Phase separation in the quaternary Heusler compound CoTi(1−x)MnxSb – A reduction in the thermal conductivity for thermoelectric applications
2010
We investigate the phase separation of the solid solution CoTi(1−x)MnxSb into the two Heusler compounds CoTiSb and CoMnSb. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements on the two-phase material reveal the presence of size- and shape-tunable CoTiSb regions in a CoMnSb matrix. We demonstrate that the formed phase and grain boundaries have a considerable influence on the phonon scattering processes, which leads to a reduction in the thermal conductivity by a factor of three compared to single-phase CoTiSb.
Enhanced Debye level in nano Zn1+xSb, FeSb2, and NiSb: Nuclear inelastic spectroscopy on121Sb
2014
The121 Sb partial density of phonon states (DPS) in nanopowder antimonides were obtained with nuclear inelastic scattering on , , and NiSb prepared by a wet chemistry route. The DPS is compared with the bulk counterpart. An increase of the Debye level indicative of a decrease of the isothermal speed of sound is systematically observed. This observation reveals that the decrease in speed of sound observed in nanostructured thermoelectric materials is not restricted to sintered nanocomposites.
Optimum Carrier Concentration in n-Type PbTe Thermoelectrics
2014
Taking La- and I-doped PbTe as an example, the current work shows the effects of optimizing the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, by controlling the doping level. The high doping effectiveness allows the carrier concentration to be precisely designed and prepared to control the Fermi level. In addition to the Fermi energy tuning, La-doping modifies the conduction band, leading to an increase in the density of states effective mass that is confirmed by transport, infrared reflectance and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Taking such a band structure modification effect into account, the electrical transport properties can then be well-described by a self-consistent single…
Thermoelectric properties of Sr_3GaSb_3 – a chain-forming Zintl compound
2012
Inspired by the promising thermoelectric properties in the Zintl compounds Ca_3AlSb_3 and Ca_5Al_2Sb_6, we investigate here the closely related compound Sr_3GaSb_3. Although the crystal structure of Sr_3GaSb_3 contains infinite chains of corner-linked tetrahedra, in common with Ca_3AlSb_3 and Ca_5Al_2Sb_6, it has twice as many atoms per unit cell (N = 56). This contributes to the exceptionally low lattice thermal conductivity (κ_L = 0.45 W m^(−1) K^(−1) at 1000 K) observed in Sr_3GaSb_3 samples synthesized for this study by ball milling followed by hot pressing. High temperature transport measurements reveal that Sr_3GaSb_3 is a nondegenerate semiconductor (consistent with Zintl charge-coun…