Improving the thermoelectric performance of ZrNi(In,Sb)-based double half-Heusler compounds

He S, Bahrami A, Ying P, Giebeler L, Zhang X, Nielsch K, He R (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Journal of Materials Chemistry A Royal Society of Chemistry

Book Volume: 10

Pages Range: 13476-13483

Journal Issue: 25

DOI: 10.1039/d2ta02413f

Abstract

The complexity of crystal structures plays an intriguing role in manipulating properties in thermoelectrics, spintronics, and batteries. In comparison to the widely studied ternary half-Heusler thermoelectric compounds, quaternary double half-Heusler compounds are promising due to their intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivities (κL). However, they have been much less investigated due to the limited material availability. In this study, we report a new double half-Heusler compound based on ZrNi(In,Sb). Upon tuning the ratio of In/Sb from 0.5/0.5 to 0.4/0.6 and reducing the nominal concentrations of Zr and Ni by 10%, we greatly reduce the intensities of the impurity-phase peaks in the diffraction patterns. An even better phase purity, in combination with an optimized power factor, is realized by substituting Co at the Ni sites. Further alloying Hf at the Zr sites enhances the point defect scattering of phonons, which yielded a minimum κL of ∼1.8 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ and a maximum zT of ∼0.5 for Zr0.7Hf0.2Ni0.65Co0.25In0.4Sb0.6 at 973 K. Our work thus confirms the intrinsically low κL of ZrNi(In,Sb) double half-Heusler compounds and indicates their promising applications upon further improving their electrical transport properties.

Involved external institutions

Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden e.V. (IFW) / Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden

Germany (DE) Zhengzhou University / 郑州大学

China (CN)

How to cite

APA:

He, S., Bahrami, A., Ying, P., Giebeler, L., Zhang, X., Nielsch, K., & He, R. (2022). Improving the thermoelectric performance of ZrNi(In,Sb)-based double half-Heusler compounds. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 10(25), 13476-13483. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ta02413f

MLA:

He, Shiyang, et al. "Improving the thermoelectric performance of ZrNi(In,Sb)-based double half-Heusler compounds." Journal of Materials Chemistry A 10.25 (2022): 13476-13483.

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