ABSTRACT
Bi-based YbMg2Bi1.98 Zintl compounds represent promising thermoelectric materials. Precise composition and appropriate doping are of great importance for this complex semiconductor. Here, the influence of Zn substitution for Mg on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties of p-type YbMg1.85-xZnxBi1.98 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.08, 0.13, 0.23) was investigated. Polycrystalline samples were prepared using induction melting and densified with spark plasma sintering. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the major phase of the samples possesses the trigonal CaAl2Si2-type crystal structure, and SEM/EDS indicated the presence of minor secondary phases. The electrical conductivity increases and the lattice thermal conductivity decreases with more Zn doping in YbMg1.85-xZnxBi1.98, whereas the Seebeck coefficient has a large reduction. The band gap decreases with increasing Zn concentration and leads to bipolar conduction, resulting in an increase in the thermal conductivity at higher temperatures. Figure of merit ZT values of 0.51 and 0.49 were found for the samples with x = 0 and 0.05 at 773 K, respectively. The maximum amount of Zn doping is suggested to be less than x = 0.1.
ABSTRACT
Double-layered manganites are natural superlattices with low thermal conductivity, which is of importance for potential thermoelectric applications. The Gd2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7 (x = 0.5; 0.625; 0.75) were prepared by the solid-state reaction method. All the samples crystallize in the tetragonal I4/mmm Sr3Ti2O7 type structure. The unit cell volume and the distortion in the MnO6 octahedra increase with increasing Gd content. Their thermoelectric properties were investigated between 300 and 1200 K. All exhibit an n-type semiconducting behavior. The electrical conductivity (σ) increases while the absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient (|S|) decreases with increasing Gd content. Simultaneous increases in σ and |S| with increasing temperature are observed at temperatures approximately higher than 600 K, and the power factor reaches a maximum value of 18.36 µW/(m K²) for x = 0.75 at 1200 K. The thermal conductivity (κ) is lower than 2 W/(m K) over the temperature range of 300-1000 K for all the samples and a maximum dimensionless figure of merit ZT of 0.01 is obtained for x = 0.75 at 1000 K.
