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Effect of Nb Doping on Thermoelectric Properties of TiNiSn Half-Heusler Alloy Prepared by Microwave Method

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Abstract

The inherent high thermal conductivity of TiNiSn half-Heusler (HH) alloy, as well as the long preparation cycle time and high cost of conventional preparation methods limited its commercial application. Herein, Ti1 – xNbxNiSn half-Heusler alloys with low lattice thermal conductivity were successfully prepared by microwave synthesis combined with rapid hot-pressing sintering, which significantly shortened the preparation cycle and ensured high density of TiNiSn half-Heusler alloys. The effects of Nb substitution at Ti sites on the composition distribution, thermal and electrical transport properties of Ti1 – xNbxNiSn half-Heusler samples were studied. The maximum ZT value of Ti0.9Nb0.1NiSn sample was 0.39 at 725 K due to the increase of power factor (PF) and the decrease of lattice thermal conductivity caused by the enhanced phonon scattering, which was about 204% higher than that of undoped TiNiSn.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Yanzhong Pei Group at Tongji University for the partial measurement of TE properties.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 51772132), Shandong Province Higher Educational Youth Innovative Science and Technology Program (grant no. 2019KJA018) and the leader of scientific research studio program of Jinan (grant no. 2021GXRC082).

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  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, 250022, Jinan, China

    Rui-Peng Zhang, Lin Bo, Xing-Long Wang, Wen-Ying Wang, Jun-Liang Zhu, Ling-Hao Zhao, Min Zuo & De-Gang Zhao

  2. Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Electronic Materials, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 518055, Shenzhen, China

    Ling-Hao Zhao

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  1. Rui-Peng Zhang
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Rui-Peng Zhang, Bo, L., Wang, XL. et al. Effect of Nb Doping on Thermoelectric Properties of TiNiSn Half-Heusler Alloy Prepared by Microwave Method. Phys. Metals Metallogr. 124, 1341–1350 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031918X22601925

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