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Studies on mechanical properties of thermoelectric materials by nanoindentation
Author(s) -
He Ran,
Gahlawat Sonika,
Guo Chuanfei,
Chen Shuo,
Dahal Tulashi,
Zhang Hao,
Liu Weishu,
Zhang Qian,
Chere Eyob,
White Kenneth,
Ren Zhifeng
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201532045
Subject(s) - nanoindentation , materials science , thermoelectric effect , bismuth telluride , brittleness , thermoelectric materials , elastic modulus , silicon , composite material , modulus , metallurgy , thermal conductivity , thermodynamics , physics
In order to fabricate durable and efficient thermoelectric generators (TEG) for applications like automobile waste heat recovery, where thermal stress is a major concern, one needs to assess the mechanical performance of the TE materials. This work reports the hardness and elastic modulus of the moderate temperature range (200–1000 °C) TE materials, including half‐Heusler, skutterudites, bismuth telluride, silicon germanium alloys, and lead selenide, using nanoindentation and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The p‐type half‐Heusler exhibits considerably higher hardness and modulus values, and lower brittleness as compared with other materials, which may be indicative of its more robust mechanical performance.