Joint effect of magnesium and yttrium on enhancing thermoelectric properties of n-type Zintl Mg3+δY0.02Sb1.5Bi0.5

Song SW, Mao J, Bordelon M, He R, Wang YM, Shuai J, Sun JY, Lei XB, Ren ZS, Chen S, Wilson S, Nielsch K, Zhang QY, Ren ZF (2019)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Journal

Materials Today Physics Elsevier

Book Volume: 8

Pages Range: 25-33

DOI: 10.1016/j.mtphys.2018.12.004

Abstract

N-type Mg3Sb2-based Zintl compounds have attracted considerable interest in recent years for their high thermoelectric performance. Mg3Sb2-based compounds inherently have p-type transport properties because of the presence of intrinsic Mg vacancies. Therefore, eliminating Mg vacancies and increasing the electron concentration are crucial for achieving high-performance n-type Mg3Sb2-based materials. The addition of excess Mg in the initial composition and the doping of chalcogens (Te, Se, and S) at the Sb site have been the primary methods used to date. Here, we demonstrate that n-type conduction was successfully achieved by a simple Y doping at the Mg site without adding extra Mg in the initial composition. Neutron diffraction analysis shows that Y preferentially goes to the Mg (Ⅱ) site and that almost all of the Mg vacancies are eliminated, giving rise to a strong donor effect to create n-type conduction. By eliminating the vacancies, the carrier concentration is easily optimized through the combination of Y and Mg, leading to a peak ZT of ∼1.8 at 773 K in Mg3.02Y0.02Sb1.5Bi0.5.

Involved external institutions

University of Houston US United States (USA) (US) Xihua University CN China (CN) University of California US United States (USA) (US) Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden e.V. (IFW) / Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden DE Germany (DE) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / 中国科学院 CN China (CN)

How to cite

APA:

Song, S.W., Mao, J., Bordelon, M., He, R., Wang, Y.M., Shuai, J.,... Ren, Z.F. (2019). Joint effect of magnesium and yttrium on enhancing thermoelectric properties of n-type Zintl Mg3+δY0.02Sb1.5Bi0.5. Materials Today Physics, 8, 25-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtphys.2018.12.004

MLA:

Song, S. W., et al. "Joint effect of magnesium and yttrium on enhancing thermoelectric properties of n-type Zintl Mg3+δY0.02Sb1.5Bi0.5." Materials Today Physics 8 (2019): 25-33.

BibTeX: Download