Preparation and Thermoelectric Transport Properties of P-doped β-FeSi2

doi:10.15541/jim20240012

Abstract

Abstract:

β-FeSi₂, an environmentally friendly and high temperature oxidation-resistant thermoelectric material, has potential applications in the field of industrial waste heat recovery. Previous studies have shown that phosphorus (P), an ideal n-type dopant in the silicon (Si) site of β-FeSi₂, can easily lead to the formation of a secondary phase, thereby limiting the enhancement of thermoelectric performance. In this study, a series of FeSi_2-_xP_x (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06) samples were synthesized using an induction melting method, which greatly inhibited the formation of the secondary phase. Then, the influence of P doping on the electrical and thermal transport properties of β-FeSi₂was studied. The results indicate that the solubility limit of P in β-FeSi₂ is about 0.04, consistent with earlier theoretical predictions based on the defect formation energy. It is also discovered that P doping enhanced the thermoelectric performance of β-FeSi₂, culminating in an optimal figure of merit (ZT) of FeSi_1.96P_0.04 approximately 0.12 at 850 K, which is much higher than the previous results (ZT about 0.03 at 673 K). However, compared to β-FeSi₂ doped with other n-type elements like cobalt (Co) and iridium (Ir), which can achieve carrier concentrations up to 10²²cm^-3, P-doped β-FeSi₂ exhibits lower carrier concentrations, with the highest of only 10²⁰ cm^-3. This results in a weaker electron-phonon scattering effect, which in turn constrains the overall enhancement of the thermoelectric performance. If the carrier concentration could be further increased, the thermoelectric performance of the material is expected to evolve significantly.

Key words: β-FeSi₂, thermoelectric material, P doping, induction melting, carrier concentration, electron-phonon scattering

CLC Number:

TB34

CHENG Jun, ZHANG Jiawei, QIU Pengfei, CHEN Lidong, SHI Xun. Preparation and Thermoelectric Transport Properties of P-doped β-FeSi₂[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2024, 39(8): 895-902.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 (a) Room-temperature XRD patterns of FeSi2-xPx (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06) and (b) crystal structure of β-FeSi2

Fig. 2 SEM images of as-synthesized FeSi2-xPx (x=0.02, 0.04, 0.06) and corresponding EDS elemental mappings

Fig. 3 Electrical transport properties of samples (a, b) Temperature dependences of electrical conductivity σ (a) and Seebeck coefficient S (b) for as-synthesized FeSi2-xPx (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06); (c, d) Comparison of the absolute values of Seebeck coefficients |S| (c) and carrier concentrations nH (d) for Co-, Ir-, and P-doped β-FeSi2 at 300 K; (e) Temperature dependence of power factor PF for as-synthesized FeSi2-xPx (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06); (f) Comparison of room-temperature power factor PF for various n-type doped β-FeSi2[13-14,17 -18,25]; Colorful figures are available on website

Fig. 4 Thermal transport properties of samples (a, b) Temperature dependences of total thermal conductivity κ (a) and lattice thermal conductivity κL (b) for as-synthesized FeSi2-xPx (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06); (c) Temperature dependence of the experimental and Debye model calculated lattice thermal conductivity κL for as-synthesized FeSi1.96P0.04 (U: Umklapp process; B: grain-boundary scattering; PD: point-defect scattering; EP: phonon-electron scattering); (d) Comparison of room temperature lattice thermal conductivity κL for Co-, Ir-, and P-doped β-FeSi2 at the same doping content; (e, f) Room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity κL as a function of the doping content of Co-doped β-FeSi2 (e) and P-doped β-FeSi2 (f), in which the solid square symbols represent the experimental data, while the red solid lines denote the Callaway model; Colorful figures are available on website

Fig. 5 Overall thermoelectric performance of samples (a) Temperature dependence of ZT for as-synthesized FeSi2-xPx (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06); (b) Comparison on ZT values of various n-type doped β-FeSi2[13-14,17 -18,25]

Table S1 Parameters used to fit the lattice thermal conductivity κL of FeSi1.96P0.04

Fitting parameter	FeSi_1.96P_0.04
L/μm	3
A/(×10^-41, s³)	0.09
B/(×10^-18, s·K^-1)	0.48
C/(×10^-15, s^-1)	0.08
R²	0.99642
χ²	0.06560

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Preparation and Thermoelectric Transport Properties of P-doped β-FeSi₂

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