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Improving thermoelectric performance of Fe2VAl-based Heusler compounds via high-pressure torsion

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Abstract

Heusler-type Fe2V0.90+xTa0.10Al1−x alloys have been processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) to improve the thermoelectric performance via a significant decrease in thermal conductivity. Before HPT processing, the x = 0.08 alloy (Fe2V0.98Ta0.10Al0.92) has a thermal conductivity of 6.0 W m−1 K−1 at 300 K and a dimensionless figure of merit up to ZT = 0.29 at 400 K. Due to HPT deformation, the thermal conductivity decreases to 3.0 W m−1 K−1 at 300 K, and even after annealing to recover the L21 ordering, a low value of 3–4 W m−1 K−1 can be maintained without significantly deteriorating the power factor. The grain boundary segregation of Ta prevents grain coarsening during annealing, resulting in an ultra-fine grained structure with grain sizes less than 100 nm. Grain refinement, as well as V/Al off-stoichiometry and heavy element Ta doping, are effective in reducing a lattice thermal conductivity, which can reach 1.3 W m−1 K−1 at 350 K. The thermoelectric performance of Fe2V0.98Ta0.10Al0.92 is improved to ZT = 0.37 around 400 K, one of the highest values ever achieved for bulk Fe2VAl-based thermoelectric materials.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science provided funding for this study through Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 17K06771 and 20K05060. The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute approved the use of SR-XRD measurements at SPring-8 (Proposal Nos. 2018B1397 and 2019A1469).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Science and Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan

    Kodai Fukuta, Hidetoshi Miyazaki & Yoichi Nishino

  2. National Institute for Materials Science, Sengen 1-2-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0047, Japan

    Koichi Tsuchiya

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  1. Kodai Fukuta
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Fukuta, K., Tsuchiya, K., Miyazaki, H. et al. Improving thermoelectric performance of Fe2VAl-based Heusler compounds via high-pressure torsion. Appl. Phys. A 128, 184 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-022-05329-y

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