Abstract
Light-element-containing CaAl2Si2-type Zintl phases CaZn2−x Cu x P2 and CaMnZn1−x Cu x P2 (x = 0.0–0.2) have been synthesized by solid-state reaction. Electrical resistivity (ρ), Seebeck coefficient (α), and thermal conductivity (κ) were measured over a wide temperature (T) range (80–1000 K) to evaluate the thermoelectric potential of these materials. Below 300 K, the power factor (PF; α 2/ρ) is very small. Above 600 K, however, PF increases rapidly for all compositions because of a rapid increase of α and a simultaneous decrease of ρ. The measured large α is consistent with the wider band gap expected for these compositions. Compared with the pure compounds, larger PF values are observed for the Cu-substituted compounds; the largest observed PF is ∼0.5 mW/m K2. The thermal conductivity is found to be rather low, despite the presence of light elements, and is in the range 1.0–1.5 W/m K at 1000 K. Because of the combination of low κ and moderate PF values, the dimensionless figure of merit ZT = α 2 T/ρκ reaches a maximum of 0.4 for CaZn1.9Cu0.1P2.
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Ponnambalam, V., Morelli, D.T. Thermoelectric Properties of Light-Element-Containing Zintl Compounds CaZn2−x Cu x P2 and CaMnZn1−x Cu x P2 (x = 0.0–0.2). J. Electron. Mater. 43, 1875–1880 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2895-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2895-2