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Preparation and properties of SiC nanopowder/Ca3Co4O9+δ composite thermoelectric ceramics by spark plasma sintering

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Abstract

Ca3Co4O9+δ compound thermoelectric ceramics with different SiC content were successfully prepared by spark plasma sintering. The effects of different SiC content on the phase structure, microstructure and thermoelectric properties of the Ca3Co4O9+δ composite thermoelectric ceramics were studied systematically. The experimental results show that SiC nanoparticles are evenly distributed in Ca3Co4O9+δ thermoelectric ceramics. The phase structure of Ca3Co4O9+δ thermoelectric ceramics is not changed by the composition of SiC nanoparticles. The grain size of composite ceramics gradually decreases with the increase of the composition amount of SiC nanoparticles. The electrical properties of SiC/Ca3Co4O9+δ composite thermoelectric ceramics show that the compound of SiC nanopowder has little effect on the Seebeck coefficient of composite thermoelectric ceramics. The conductivity of SiC/Ca3Co4O9+δ composite thermoelectric ceramics increases first and then decreases with increasing compound content of SiC. The thermal conductivity of the Ca3Co4O9+δ composite thermoelectric ceramics was first decreasing and then increasing with the increase compound content of SiC nanoparticle. A certain amount of SiC nanopowder enhances the carrier concentration of composite ceramics, produces more grain boundaries in ceramics, enhances phonon scattering, which improves the electrical conductivity and reduces thermal conductivity of composite ceramics. When the SiC content is 0.06 wt%, the conductivity and thermal efficiency of the SiC and Ca3Co4O9+δ composite thermoelectric ceramics are optimized simultaneously. When the temperature is 973 K, the ZT value of the composite thermoelectric ceramics reaches 0.21 at 923 K, which is 61.5% higher than that of the Ca3Co4O9+δ thermoelectric ceramics.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to internal rules of data processing of some participating bodies but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation Project of China (51902088), Program for Science & Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province (21HASTIT014), the Excellent Youth Fund of Henan Natural Science Foundation (212300410031)and the Programs for Tackling Key Problems in Science and Technology of Henan Province (232102230022, 222102240004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Engineering, Henan University of Engineering, Zhengzhou, 451191, China

    Shaohui Liu, Yuan Wang, Haoshan Hao & Wang Jiao

  2. North China Investment Center, Hopson Development Holdings Limited, Beijing, 100020, China

    Zhongyuan Xin

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  1. Shaohui Liu
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  3. Yuan Wang
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  5. Wang Jiao
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Contributions

SL wrote the main manuscript text. ZX and YW prepared Figs. 5 and 7. HH and WJ revised this manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shaohui Liu.

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Liu, S., Xin, Z., Wang, Y. et al. Preparation and properties of SiC nanopowder/Ca3Co4O9+δ composite thermoelectric ceramics by spark plasma sintering. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1497 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10914-9

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