Facile composite engineering to boost thermoelectric power conversion in ZnSb device

Theja, V. C.S., Karthikeyan, V. , Nayak, S., Kandira, K. U., Assi, D. S., Kannan, V. and Roy, V. A.L. (2023) Facile composite engineering to boost thermoelectric power conversion in ZnSb device. Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 178, 111329. (doi: 10.1016/j.jpcs.2023.111329)

Abstract

Zinc antimonide (ZnSb) is one of the alternatives for commercial thermoelectric materials due to its non-toxic, low-cost, and earth-abundant nature. However, its simple crystal structure causes strong phonon vibrations, which enhance lattice thermal conductivity. In this work, we systematically studied the effect of γ-Al2O3 nano-inclusions on ZnSb. Our results show that composite engineering imparts lattice phonon scattering for reduced thermal conductivity and low-energy carrier filtering for enhanced Seebeck coefficient. The obtained figure of merit in the ZnSb+5% γ-Al2O3 sample at 673 K is nearly two-fold higher than the pristine sample. Our fabricated 2-leg ZnSb+5% γ-Al2O3 device displayed a power generation of 0.11 μW at ΔT of 200 °C. Furthermore, adding γ-Al2O3 nano-inclusions improve the mechanical and thermal stabilities due to grain boundary hardening and dispersion strengthening. Overall, the addition of γ-Al2O3 nano-inclusions to ZnSb enhancing the Seebeck coefficient, reducing thethermal conductivity, and improving mechanical and thermal stability significantly.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors acknowledge grants from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Project No: T42-103/16N.
• Keywords: ZnSb, γ-Al2O3, nano-inclusion, phonon scattering, thermal conductivity.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Assi, Dani and Kandira, Kadir Ufuk and Vellaisamy, Professor Roy and Karthikeyan, Dr Vaithinathan

Creator Roles

Karthikeyan, V.: Investigation, Writing – review and editing, Resources
Roy, V. A.L.: Supervision, Funding acquisition

• Authors: Theja, V. C.S., Karthikeyan, V., Nayak, S., Kandira, K. U., Assi, D. S., Kannan, V., and Roy, V. A.L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0022-3697
• ISSN (Online): 1879-2553
• Published Online: 13 March 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 178:111329
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy