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High performance half-Heusler thermoelectric materials with refined grains and nanoscale precipitates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2012

Cui Yu ,
Hanhui Xie ,
Chenguang Fu ,
Tiejun Zhu  and
Xinbing Zhao
Cui Yu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; and Science and Technology on ASIC Laboratory, Shijiazhuang 050051, China
Hanhui Xie
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Chenguang Fu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Tiejun Zhu*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; and Cyrus Tang Center for Sensor Materials and Applications, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Xinbing Zhao
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

(Zr, Hf)NiSn-based half-Heusler alloys with refined grains were prepared by melt spinning and spark plasma sintering. The grain size of the melt-spun (MS) thin ribbons varied from ∼500 nm to ∼3 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that single phased alloys were obtained. Nanoscale precipitates dispersed in the matrix could be observed in both the MS ribbons and sintered bulk samples, which increased the carrier concentration and electrical conductivity. The lattice thermal conductivity decreased by more than 20% below 100 K and 5–20% from 200 to 1000 K, compared with the levitation melted counterparts, due to the refined grain sizes. The maximum dimensionless figure of merit ZT value reached ∼0.9 for the MS Hf0.6Zr0.4NiSn0.98Sb0.02sample.

Keywords

ZrNiSnmelt spinningthermoelectric propertiesthermal conductivityphonon scattering
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 19 , 14 October 2012 , pp. 2457 - 2465
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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