Comprehensive Study of ZrNiIn0.5Sb0.5 Double Half-Heusler Properties for Thermoelectric and Spintronics Applications: Intrinsic Homogeneity Optimization and Extrinsic Sc Doping Effects

IF 5.5 3区材料科学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

ACS Applied Energy Materials Pub Date : 2025-01-31 DOI:10.1021/acsaem.4c0315210.1021/acsaem.4c03152

Joseph Ngugi Kahiu, Samuel Kimani Kihoi, Hyunji Kim, Innocent Thato Marekwa, Donghyun Shin and Ho Seong Lee*,

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Abstract

Recent efforts have focused on optimizing alternative thermoelectric (TE) materials for mid-to-high temperature applications and exploring additional potential fields of application. This study aimed to improve the TE performance of ZrNiIn_0.5Sb_0.5 double half-Heusler alloy by reducing impurity phases and doping with Sc, while also probing its magnetic behavior. Samples were synthesized through arc melting, hot pressing, and annealing, which resulted in a reduction in impurities upon stepwise In–Sb compensation. This improvement led to a 114% increase in power factor (PF) and a 30% decrease in thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the retention of ZrO₂ nanoprecipitates and a bimodal microstructure, along with further minimization of impurities through Zr compensation, increased PF by an additional 20% and decreased thermal conductivity by 12%. As a result, the figure of merit (zT) was boosted by 82% at 973 K. However, Sc doping caused a reduction in thermal conductivity by 11%, but it had a negative impact on PF and thus zT. ZrNiIn_0.5Sb_0.5 demonstrated a hardness of 447 Hv and exhibited soft ferromagnetic semiconductor properties. This research significantly advances the use of ZrNiIn_0.5Sb_0.5 alloys for thermoelectric applications and potential spintronic applications.

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热电和自旋电子学应用中ZrNiIn0.5Sb0.5双半heusler性质的综合研究：内禀均匀性优化和外禀Sc掺杂效应

最近的工作集中在优化替代热电（TE）材料的中高温应用和探索其他潜在的应用领域。本研究旨在通过减少杂质相和掺杂Sc来提高ZrNiIn0.5Sb0.5双半heusler合金的TE性能，同时探索其磁性行为。样品通过电弧熔炼、热压和退火合成，通过in - sb补偿，使杂质减少。这一改进导致功率因数（PF）增加114%，导热系数降低30%。此外，ZrO2纳米沉淀的保留和双峰微观结构，以及通过Zr补偿进一步减少杂质，使PF增加了20%，导热系数降低了12%。结果，在973 K时，性能值（zT）提高了82%。然而，Sc掺杂导致导热系数降低了11%，但它对PF和zT有负面影响。ZrNiIn0.5Sb0.5的硬度为447 Hv，具有软铁磁半导体特性。该研究显著推进了ZrNiIn0.5Sb0.5合金在热电和自旋电子领域的应用。

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来源期刊

ACS Applied Energy Materials Materials Science-Materials Chemistry

CiteScore

10.30

自引率

6.20%

发文量

1368

期刊介绍： ACS Applied Energy Materials is an interdisciplinary journal publishing original research covering all aspects of materials, engineering, chemistry, physics and biology relevant to energy conversion and storage. The journal is devoted to reports of new and original experimental and theoretical research of an applied nature that integrate knowledge in the areas of materials, engineering, physics, bioscience, and chemistry into important energy applications.