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Wang L, Zhang W, Back SY, Kawamoto N, Nguyen DH, Mori T. High-performance Mg 3Sb 2-based thermoelectrics with reduced structural disorder and microstructure evolution. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6800. [PMID: 39122724 PMCID: PMC11316108 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51120-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectrics show great promise for next-generation thermoelectric power generators and coolers owing to their excellent figure of merit (zT) and earth-abundant composition elements. However, the complexity of the defect microstructure hinders the advancement of high performance. Here, the defect microstructure is modified via In doping and prolonged sintering time to realize the reduced structural disorder and microstructural evolution, synergistically optimizing electron and phonon transport via a delocalization effect. As a result, an excellent carrier mobility of ~174 cm2 V-1 s-1 and an ultralowκ l a t of ~0.42 W m-1 K-1 are realized in this system, leading to an ultrahigh zT of ~2.0 at 723 K. The corresponding single-leg module demonstrates a high conversion efficiency of ~12.6% with a 425 K temperature difference, and the two-pair module of Mg3Sb2/MgAgSb displays ~7.1% conversion efficiency with a 276 K temperature difference. This work paves a pathway to improve the thermoelectric performance of Mg3Sb2-based materials, and represents a significant step forward for the practical application of Mg3Sb2-based devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longquan Wang
- Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan
- Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Wenhao Zhang
- Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Song Yi Back
- Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Naoyuki Kawamoto
- Center for Basic Research on Materials, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Duy Hieu Nguyen
- Center for Basic Research on Materials, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Takao Mori
- Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan.
- Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
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2
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Li X, Sun C, Yang K, Liang D, Ye X, Song W, Xu W, Zhao W, Zhang Q. Excellent Room Temperature Thermoelectric Performance in Mg 3Sb 2-Based Alloys via Multi-Functional Doping of Nb. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2311478. [PMID: 38396159 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202311478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Mg3Sb2-based alloys are attracting increasing attention due to the excellent room temperature thermoelectric properties. However, due to the presence and easy segregation of charged Mg vacancies, the carrier mobility in Mg3Sb2-based alloys is always severely compromised that significantly restricts the room temperature performance. General vacancy compensation strategies cannot synergistically optimize the complicated Mg3Sb2 structures involving both interior and boundary scattering. Herein, due to the multi-functional doping effect of Nb, the electron scattering inside and across grains is significantly suppressed by inhibiting the accumulation of Mg vacancies, and leading to a smooth transmission channel of electrons. The increased Mg vacancies migration barrier and optimized interface potential are also confirmed theoretically and experimentally, respectively. As a result, a leading room temperature zT of 1.02 is achieved. This work reveals the multi-functional doping effect as an efficient approach in improving room temperature thermoelectric performance in complicated defect/interface associated Mg3Sb2-based alloys.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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, P. R. 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, P. R. China
- NRC (Nanostructure Research Centre), Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, P. R. 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, P. R. China
| | - Dong Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, P. R. 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, P. R. China
| | - Wei Song
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, P. R. China
| | - Wenjie Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, P. R. 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, P. R. China
- Foshan Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Xianhu, 528000, P. R. 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, P. R. China
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Yu K, Dong X, Zhu Y, Zhang Y, Ge Z, Guo F, Cai W, Liu Z, Sui J. Synergistically Optimized Thermoelectric and Mechanical Properties of Mg 3.2Bi 1.5Sb 0.5-SiC Composites. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024. [PMID: 38598173 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c01635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Motivated by the surging demand for low-temperature waste heat harvesting, materials with both prominent thermoelectric and good mechanical properties are preferred in practical applications. In this present work, the composite exploration of Te-doped Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5-x vol % nanosized SiC (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5) was carried out, where nanosized SiC is physically dispersed in the matrix in the form of a second phase. SiC second phase compositing further optimized the matrix carrier concentration, resulting in a higher power factor in the service temperature range (the highest value from 28.9 to 31.7 μW cm-1 K-2), and the (ZT)ave from 0.91 to 0.96 compared with the matrix sample. In addition, the SiC second phase effectively enhanced the mechanical properties of composite materials, including flexural strength, microhardness, and modulus. Because of the simultaneous optimization of thermoelectric and mechanical properties, the overall performance of Te-doped Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5-0.05 vol % SiC composite is leveraged to meet special requirements of power generation. It is expected that the addition of SiC should be broadly applicable to address the physical performance in other thermoelectric systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuai Yu
- National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Xingyan Dong
- National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Yuke Zhu
- National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Yixin Zhang
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China
| | - Zhenhua Ge
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China
| | - Fengkai Guo
- National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Wei Cai
- National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Zihang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Jiehe Sui
- National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
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Suryawanshi H, Agrawal B, Kumari N, Dasgupta T. Developing a Multiband Electronic Band Structure Model and Predictive Maps for Bismuth-Rich Mg 3(Sb 1-xBi x) 2 Thermoelectric Materials. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:2263-2269. [PMID: 38170558 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c15019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, bismuth-rich Mg3(Sb1-xBix)2 (x = 0.5-0.8) compositions have generated significant interest due to their excellent thermoelectric (TE) performance near room temperature, making them potential applicants for recovery of low-grade waste heat. The superior performance in these materials is due to its complex electronic band structure (EBS) with presence of multiple near degenerate bands close to the conduction band edge. The position and curvature of these bands strongly depend on the alloy composition, doping amount as well as temperature. Thus, identifying optimal material compositions to get the best TE performance depends on an understanding of the temperature dynamics of EBS and forms the objective of this work. Mg3Sb0.6Bi1.4 (x = 0.7) is chosen for this study due to its reported high near room temperature performance, and compositions with varying doping concentrations (Te used as dopant) have been synthesized. EBS parameters like effective mass and deformation potential of bands, interband separation and band gap values have been estimated using a recently developed refinement approach. Refinement results indicate that the interband separation between conduction bands to be a function of both temperature and doping concentration. Further, thermal conductivity (κ) was estimated for all of the compositions. Utilizing the EBS and κ information, predictive 3D maps indicating the variation in zT (TE figure of merit) with doping concentration and temperature have been generated. The 3D maps reveal an interesting surface topography with a broad peak zT region. This observation explains why these materials have high TE performance and are less sensitive to doping inhomogeneities. Our results provide detailed EBS information and fundamental insights on the TE properties of Mg3Sb0.6Bi1.4. Further, the proposed technique can be utilized to probe other Mg3(Sb1-xBix)2 compositions and TE materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harshada Suryawanshi
- Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
| | - Bharti Agrawal
- Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
| | - Nirma Kumari
- Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
| | - Titas Dasgupta
- Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
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Peng Q, Yuan X, Zhao S, Chen XJ. Lattice Thermal Conductivity of Mg 3(Bi,Sb) 2 Nanocomposites: A First-Principles Study. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:2938. [PMID: 37999293 PMCID: PMC10675190 DOI: 10.3390/nano13222938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Mg3(BixSb1-x)2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nanocomposites are a highly appealing class of thermoelectric materials that hold great potential for solid-state cooling applications. Tuning of the lattice thermal conductivity is crucial for improving the thermoelectric properties of these materials. Hereby, we investigated the lattice thermal conductivity of Mg3(BixSb1-x)2 nanocomposites with varying Bi content (x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0) using first-principles calculations. This study reveals that the lattice thermal conductivity follows a classical inverse temperature-dependent relationship. There is a significant decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity when the Bi content increases from 0 to 0.25 or decreases from 1.0 to 0.75 at 300 K. In contrast, when the Bi content increases from 0.25 to 0.75, the lattice thermal conductivity experiences a gradual decrease and reaches a plateau. For the nanohybrids (x = 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75), the distribution patterns of the phonon group velocity and phonon lifetime are similar, with consistent distribution intervals. Consequently, the change in lattice thermal conductivity is not pronounced. However, the phonon group speed and phonon lifetime are generally lower compared to those of the pristine components with x = 0 and x = 1.0. Our results suggest that the lattice thermal conductivity is sensitive to impurities but not to concentrations. This research provides valuable theoretical insights for adjusting the lattice thermal conductivity of Mg3(BixSb1-x)2 nanocomposites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Peng
- School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- The State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- Guangdong Aerospace Research Academy, Guangzhou 511458, China
| | - Xiaoze Yuan
- The State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Shuai Zhao
- The State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Xiao-Jia Chen
- School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, 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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Hu J, Zhu J, Guo F, Qin H, Liu Y, Zhang Q, Liu Z, Cai W, Sui J. Electronic Orbital Alignment and Hierarchical Phonon Scattering Enabling High Thermoelectric Performance p-Type Mg 3Sb 2 Zintl Compounds. RESEARCH 2022; 2022:9842949. [PMID: 35582692 PMCID: PMC9079362 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9842949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Environmentally friendly Mg3Sb2-based materials have drawn intensive attention owing to their promising thermoelectric performance. In this work, the electrical properties of p-type Mg3Sb2 are dramatically optimized by the regulation of Mg deficiency. Then, we, for the first time, found that Zn substitution at the Mg2 site leads to the alignment of px,y and pz orbital, resulting in a high band degeneracy and the dramatically enhanced Seebeck coefficient, demonstrated by the DFT calculations and electronic properties measurement. Moreover, Zn alloying decreases Mg1 (Zn) vacancies formation energy and in turn increases Mg (Zn) vacancies and optimizes the carrier concentration. Simultaneously, the Mg/Zn substitutions, Mg vacancies, and porosity structure suppress the phonon transport in a broader frequency range, leading to a low lattice thermal conductivity of ~0.47 W m-1 K-1 at 773 K. Finally, a high ZT of ~0.87 at 773 K was obtained for Mg1.95Na0.01Zn1Sb2, exceeding most of the previously reported p-type Mg3Sb2 compounds. Our results further demonstrate the promising prospects of p-type Mg3Sb2-based material in the field of mid-temperature heat recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinsuo Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Jianbo Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Fengkai Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Haixu Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Yijie Liu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Zihang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Wei Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Jiehe Sui
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
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Maximizing the performance of n-type Mg 3Bi 2 based materials for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1120. [PMID: 35236865 PMCID: PMC8891317 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28798-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the thermoelectric effect was discovered around 200 years ago, the main application in practice is thermoelectric cooling using the traditional Bi2Te3. The related studies of new and efficient room-temperature thermoelectric materials and modules have, however, not come to fruition yet. In this work, the electronic properties of n-type Mg3.2Bi1.5Sb0.5 material are maximized via delicate microstructural design with the aim of eliminating the thermal grain boundary resistance, eventually leading to a high zT above 1 over a broad temperature range from 323 K to 423 K. Importantly, we further demonstrated a great breakthrough in the non-Bi2Te3 thermoelectric module, coupled with the high-performance p-type α-MgAgSb, for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling. A high conversion efficiency of ~2.8% at the temperature difference of 95 K and a maximum temperature difference of 56.5 K are experimentally achieved. If the interfacial contact resistance is further reduced, our non-Bi2Te3 module may rival the long-standing champion commercial Bi2Te3 system. Overall, this work represents a substantial step towards the real thermoelectric application using non-Bi2Te3 materials and devices. The awaited studies of new and efficient thermoelectric modules have not come to fruition yet. Here, the authors demonstrate a high thermoelectric performance of non-Bi2Te3 module for room-temperature power generation and thermoelectric cooling.
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