Open AccessRevelation of Inherently High Mobility Enables Mg 3 Sb 2 as a Sustainable Alternative to n‐Bi 2 Te 3 Thermoelectrics
Author(s) -
Shi Xuemin,
Sun Cheng,
Bu Zhonglin,
Zhang Xinyue,
Wu Yixuan,
Lin Siqi,
Li Wen,
Faghaninia Alireza,
Jain Anubhav,
Pei Yanzhong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201802286
Subject(s) - thermoelectric effect , thermoelectric materials , materials science , electron mobility , figure of merit , thermal conduction , optoelectronics , thermal conductivity , thermodynamics , composite material , physics
Over the past years, thermoelectric Mg 3 Sb 2 alloys particularly in n‐type conduction, have attracted increasing attentions for thermoelectric applications, due to the multivalley conduction band, abundance of constituents, and less toxicity. However, the high vapor pressure, causticity of Mg, and the high melting point of Mg 3 Sb 2 tend to cause the inclusion in the materials of boundary phases and defects that affect the transport properties. In this work, a utilization of tantalum‐sealing for melting enables n‐type Mg 3 Sb 2 alloys to show a substantially higher mobility than ever reported, which can be attributed to the purification of phases and to the coarse grains. Importantly, the inherently high mobility successfully enables the thermoelectric figure of merit in optimal compositions to be highly competitive to that of commercially available n‐type Bi 2 Te 3 alloys and to be higher than that of other known n‐type thermoelectrics at 300–500 K. This work reveals Mg 3 Sb 2 alloys as a top candidate for near‐room‐temperature thermoelectric applications.