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Zhou S, Yin YR, Tian Y, Liu XC, Liu Q, Li B, Xia SQ. Mg-Defect Compensation to Realize High Performance at Room Temperature in Mg 3Bi 2-Based Thermoelectric Single Crystals. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:28886-28895. [PMID: 38771993 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c05443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Mg3Bi2-based materials are a very promising substitute for current commercial Bi2Te3 thermoelectric alloys. The successful growth of Mg3Bi2-based single crystals with high room-temperature performance is especially significant for practical applications. Previous studies indicated that the effective suppression of Mg defects in Mg3Bi2-based materials was crucial for high performance, which was usually realized by applying excessive Mg during syntheses. However, utilization of excessive Mg generates Mg-rich phases between the crystalline boundaries and is unfavorable for the long-term stability of the materials. Here, bulk single crystals with a low-content Mg component such as Mg3.1Bi1.49Sb0.5Te0.01 were successfully grown. For compensating Mg defects, Li was chosen as the additional electron dopant. The results indicate that Li is a very effective electron compensator when low-concentration doping is applied. For high-concentration doping, Mg atoms in the lattice are substituted by Li, leading to decreased electron concentration again. This strategy is very significant for improving the room-temperature performance of Mg3Bi2-based materials. As a result, a record-high figure of merit of 1.05 at 300 K is achieved for Mg3+xLi0.003Bi1.49Sb0.5Te0.01 single crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shun Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Institute of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan-Ru Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Institute of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Institute of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Cun Liu
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Monocrystalline Silicon Semiconductor Materials and Technology, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, People's Republic of China
- School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan, Shandong 250023, People's Republic of China
| | - Qian Liu
- School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, People's Republic of China
| | - Bo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Institute of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, People's Republic of China
| | - Sheng-Qing Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Institute of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, People's Republic of China
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2
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Geng Y, Li Z, Lin Z, Liu Y, Lai Q, Wu X, Hu L, Liu F, Yu Y, Zhang C. Inhibiting Mg Diffusion and Evaporation by Forming Mg-Rich Reservoir at Grain Boundaries Improves the Thermal Stability of N-Type Mg 3 Sb 2 Thermoelectrics. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2305670. [PMID: 37658521 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202305670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
N-type Mg3 Sb2 -based thermoelectric materials show great promise in power generation due to their mechanical robustness, low cost of Mg, and high figure of merit (ZT) over a wide range of temperatures. However, their poor thermal stability hinders their practical applications. Here, MgB2 is introduced to improve the thermal stability of n-type Mg3 Sb2 . Enabled by MgB2 decomposition, extra Mg can be released into the matrix for Mg compensation thermodynamically, and secondary phases of Mg─B compounds can kinetically prevent Mg diffusion along grain boundaries. These synergetic effects inhibit the formation of Mg vacancies at elevated temperatures, thereby enhancing the thermal stability of n-type Mg3 Sb2 . Consequently, the Mg3.05 (Sb0.75 Bi0.25 )1.99 Te0.01 (MgB2 )0.03 sample exhibits negligible variation in thermoelectric performance during the 120-hour continuous measurement at 673 K. Moreover, the ZT of n-type Mg3 Sb2 can be maintained by adding MgB2 , reaching a high average ZT of ≈1.1 within 300-723 K. An eight-pair Mg3 Sb2 -GeTe-based thermoelectric device is also fabricated, achieving an energy conversion efficiency of ≈5.7% at a temperature difference of 438 K with good thermal stability. This work paves a new way to enhance the long-term thermal stability of n-type Mg3 Sb2 -based alloys and other thermoelectrics for practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Geng
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Zerong Li
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Zehao Lin
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Yali Liu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Qiangwen Lai
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Xuelian Wu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Lipeng Hu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Fusheng Liu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Yuan Yu
- Institute of Physics (IA), RWTH Aachen University, 52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Chaohua Zhang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Institute of Deep Underground Sciences and Green Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
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Wu X, Ma X, Yao H, Liang K, Zhao P, Hou S, Yin L, Yang H, Sui J, Lin X, Cao F, Zhang Q, Mao J. Revealing the Chemical Instability of Mg 3Sb 2-xBi x-Based Thermoelectric Materials. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:50216-50224. [PMID: 37862682 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c12290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
n-Type Mg3Sb2-xBix alloys have been regarded as promising thermoelectric materials due to their excellent performance and low cost. For practical applications, the thermoelectric performance is not the only factor that should be taken into consideration. In addition, the chemical and thermal stabilities of the thermoelectric material are of equal importance for the module design. Previous studies reported that the Mg3Sb2-xBix alloys were unstable in an ambient environment. In this work, we found that Mg3Sb2-xBix alloys reacted with H2O and O2 at room temperature and formed amorphous Mg(OH)2/MgO and crystalline Bi/Sb. The substantial loss of Mg resulted in a significant deterioration in thermoelectric properties, accompanied by the transition from n-type to p-type. With the increase in Bi content, the chemical stability decreased due to the higher formation energy of Mg3Bi2. A chemically stable Mg3Bi2 sample was achieved by coating it with polydimethylsiloxane to isolate H2O and O2 in the air.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotong Wu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Xiaojing Ma
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Honghao Yao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Kun Liang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Peng Zhao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Shuaihang Hou
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Li Yin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Hengyu Yang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Jiehe Sui
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Xi Lin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Feng Cao
- School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
| | - Qian Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Jun Mao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Genome & Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P.R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
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Li Z, Sun C, Li X, Ye X, Yang K, Nie X, Zhao W, Zhang Q. Realizing Excellent Structural and Thermoelectric Performance in Mg 3Sb 2-Based Alloys by Manipulating Mg Intrinsic Migration Kinetics with Interstitial Ni Doping. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:23447-23456. [PMID: 37134190 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c02351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
N-type Mg3Sb2 is attracting increasing focus for its outstanding room-temperature (RT) thermoelectric (TE) performance; however, achieving reliable n-type conduction remains challenging due to negatively charged Mg vacancies. Doping with compensation charges is generally used but does not fundamentally resolve the high intrinsic activity and easy formation of Mg vacancies. Herein, a robust structural and thermoelectric performance is obtained by manipulating Mg intrinsic migration activity by precisely incorporating Ni at the interstitial site. Density functional theory (DFT) indicates that a strong performance originates from a significant thermodynamic preference for Ni occupying the interstitial site across the complete Mg-poor to -rich window, which dramatically promotes the Mg migration barrier and kinetically immobilizes Mg. As a result, the detrimental vacancy-associated ionized scattering is eliminated with a leading room-temperature ZT up to 0.85. This work reveals that interstitial occupation in Mg3Sb2-based materials is a novel approach promoting both structural and thermoelectric performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Congli Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
- NRC (Nanostructure Research Centre), Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xiangyu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xianfeng Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Kangkang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xiaolei Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Wenyu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
- Foshan Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Xianhu 528000, China
| | - Qingjie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
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Langmann J, Kepenci H, Eickerling G, Batke K, Jesche A, Xu M, Canfield P, Scherer W. Experimental X-ray Charge-Density Studies─A Suitable Probe for Superconductivity? A Case Study on MgB 2. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:8494-8507. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c05925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Langmann
- CPM, Institut für Physik, Universität Augsburg, 86159Augsburg, Germany
| | - Hasan Kepenci
- CPM, Institut für Physik, Universität Augsburg, 86159Augsburg, Germany
| | - Georg Eickerling
- CPM, Institut für Physik, Universität Augsburg, 86159Augsburg, Germany
| | - Kilian Batke
- CPM, Institut für Physik, Universität Augsburg, 86159Augsburg, Germany
| | - Anton Jesche
- Experimentalphysik VI, Zentrum für Elektronische Korrelation und Magnetismus, Institut für Physik, Universität Augsburg, Augsburg86159, Germany
| | - Mingyu Xu
- The Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States
| | - Paul Canfield
- The Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States
| | - Wolfgang Scherer
- CPM, Institut für Physik, Universität Augsburg, 86159Augsburg, Germany
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