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Discovery of high-performance low-cost n-type Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectric materials with multi-valley conduction bands

Author

Listed:
  • Jiawei Zhang

    (Center for Materials Crystallography, Aarhus University)

  • Lirong Song

    (Center for Materials Crystallography, Aarhus University)

  • Steffen Hindborg Pedersen

    (Center for Materials Crystallography, Aarhus University)

  • Hao Yin

    (Center for Materials Crystallography, Aarhus University
    TEGnology ApS)

  • Le Thanh Hung

    (Technical University of Denmark)

  • Bo Brummerstedt Iversen

    (Center for Materials Crystallography, Aarhus University)

Abstract

Widespread application of thermoelectric devices for waste heat recovery requires low-cost high-performance materials. The currently available n-type thermoelectric materials are limited either by their low efficiencies or by being based on expensive, scarce or toxic elements. Here we report a low-cost n-type material, Te-doped Mg3Sb1.5Bi0.5, that exhibits a very high figure of merit zT ranging from 0.56 to 1.65 at 300−725 K. Using combined theoretical prediction and experimental validation, we show that the high thermoelectric performance originates from the significantly enhanced power factor because of the multi-valley band behaviour dominated by a unique near-edge conduction band with a sixfold valley degeneracy. This makes Te-doped Mg3Sb1.5Bi0.5 a promising candidate for the low- and intermediate-temperature thermoelectric applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiawei Zhang & Lirong Song & Steffen Hindborg Pedersen & Hao Yin & Le Thanh Hung & Bo Brummerstedt Iversen, 2017. "Discovery of high-performance low-cost n-type Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectric materials with multi-valley conduction bands," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms13901
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13901
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    Cited by:

    1. Nan Chen & Hangtian Zhu & Guodong Li & Zhen Fan & Xiaofan Zhang & Jiawei Yang & Tianbo Lu & Qiulin Liu & Xiaowei Wu & Yuan Yao & Youguo Shi & Huaizhou Zhao, 2023. "Improved figure of merit (z) at low temperatures for superior thermoelectric cooling in Mg3(Bi,Sb)2," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Jing-Wei Li & Zhijia Han & Jincheng Yu & Hua-Lu Zhuang & Haihua Hu & Bin Su & Hezhang Li & Yilin Jiang & Lu Chen & Weishu Liu & Qiang Zheng & Jing-Feng Li, 2023. "Wide-temperature-range thermoelectric n-type Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 with high average and peak zT values," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Sharma, Vaishali & Kagdada, Hardik L. & Jha, Prafulla K. & Śpiewak, Piotr & Kurzydłowski, Krzysztof J., 2020. "Thermal transport properties of boron nitride based materials: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Zihang Liu & Weihong Gao & Hironori Oshima & Kazuo Nagase & Chul-Ho Lee & Takao Mori, 2022. "Maximizing the performance of n-type Mg3Bi2 based materials for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Marenco-Porto, Carlos A. & Fierro, José J. & Nieto-Londoño, César & Lopera, Leonardo & Escudero-Atehortua, Ana & Giraldo, Mauricio & Jouhara, Hussam, 2023. "Potential savings in the cement industry using waste heat recovery technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    6. Airan Li & Yuechu Wang & Yuzheng Li & Xinlei Yang & Pengfei Nan & Kai Liu & Binghui Ge & Chenguang Fu & Tiejun Zhu, 2024. "High performance magnesium-based plastic semiconductors for flexible thermoelectrics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    7. Guo, Xinru & Zhang, Houcheng & Yuan, Jinliang & Wang, Jiatang & Zhao, Jiapei & Wang, Fu & Miao, He & Hou, Shujin, 2019. "Performance assessment of a combined system consisting of a high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and a thermoelectric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 762-770.
    8. Jiasheng Liang & Jin Liu & Pengfei Qiu & Chen Ming & Zhengyang Zhou & Zhiqiang Gao & Kunpeng Zhao & Lidong Chen & Xun Shi, 2023. "Modulation of the morphotropic phase boundary for high-performance ductile thermoelectric materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.

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