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Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Non-equilibrium Synthesized Fe0.4Co3.6Sb12-xGex Skutterudites via Randomly Distributed Multi-scaled Impurity Dots

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Abstract

The p-type Ge doped Fe0.4Co3.6Sb12-xGex skutterudites with multi-scaled impurity dots (500 nm-2 mm) were successfully prepared by using melt-quenching (MQ) and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. Compared with traditional method, the new technology significantly shortened the processing time from several days to less than 24 hours. The phase of impurity dots was demonstrated to be CoSb through analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive spectrum (EDS). Impurity dots were induced by Ge substitution of Sb in the non-equilibrium synthesized process. Due to the abandonment of the long reaction of annealing crystallization, a few of Ge atoms would fail to substitute Sb site of skutterudite in this non-equilibrium synthesized process, leading to that the multi-scaled impurity dots randomly distributed in the matrix of skutterudite Fe0.4Co3.6Sb12-xGex. The combination of multi-scaled impurity dots scattering long wavelength heat-carrying phonons and the point defect scattering short and middle wavelength heat-carrying phonons dramatically made the 22.2% reduction of lattice thermal conductivity. As a result, compared with unsubstituted sample of Fe0.4Co3.6Sb12, the maximum ZT value was increased by 30.5%. Thus, the two marked features of this new synthesis process, the shortened preparation time and the enhanced thermoelectric performance, would make a promising commercial application in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Song Zhang  (章嵩), Xuan Hu, Hong Cheng, Rong Tu & Lianmeng Zhang

  2. The Center for Materials Research and Analysis, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Meijun Yang  (杨梅君)

Authors
  1. Song Zhang  (章嵩)
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  2. Xuan Hu
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  3. Meijun Yang  (杨梅君)
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  4. Hong Cheng
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  5. Rong Tu
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  6. Lianmeng Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meijun Yang  (杨梅君).

Additional information

Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.5137218 and 51521001), the 111 Project (B13035), the International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China(2014DFA53090), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China(2016CFA006), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(WUT:2017II43GX,2017III032, 2017-YB-004), the Science Challenge Project (No.TZ2016001), and the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing (WUT, No: 2017-KF-5)

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Zhang, S., Hu, X., Yang, M. et al. Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Non-equilibrium Synthesized Fe0.4Co3.6Sb12-xGex Skutterudites via Randomly Distributed Multi-scaled Impurity Dots. J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.-Mat. Sci. Edit. 33, 772–777 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-018-1891-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-018-1891-z

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