Journal of Inorganic Materials ›› 2024, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (8): 903-910.DOI: 10.15541/jim20240057

Special Issue: 【能源环境】热电材料(202409)

• RESEARCH ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Interface Layer of Te-based Thermoelectric Device: Abnormal Growth and Interface Stability

MIAO Xin1(), YAN Shiqiang1, WEI Jindou1, WU Chao1, FAN Wenhao2, CHEN Shaoping1()   

  1. 1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
    2. College of Physics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
  • Received:2024-01-30 Revised:2024-02-20 Published:2024-08-20 Online:2024-04-19
  • Contact: CHEN Shaoping, professor. E-mail: chenshaoping@tyut.edu.cn
  • About author:MIAO Xin (1999-), male, Master candidate. E-mail: miaoxin0242@link.tyut.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(52202277);Special Project of Science and Technology Cooperation and Exchange of Shanxi Province(202104041101007);Shanxi Scholarship Council of China(2023-083)

Abstract:

Though Te has excellent figure of merit (ZT), the severe element diffusion and reaction at the Te/metallic-electrodes interface render high contact resistivity (ρc) and low device conversion efficiency (η). Therefore, it is critical to develop suitable barrier layers for optimizing the bonding between Te and metallic electrodes. In this work, an appropriate barrier layer, NiTe2-m (NixTe (x=0.500~0.908)), was screened based on gradient structure. No reaction layers and defects at the interface of Ni0.5Te/Te0.985Sb0.015/Ni0.5Te were detected before and after aging at 473 K. Low ρc (less than 10 μΩ·cm2) and high η (about 75% of the theoretical value under a temperature difference of 180 K (hot end: 473 K)) were achieved and maintained stable during aging, showing excellent thermal stability of the interface. When x>0.500, the thickness of the interface reaction layer decreased with x increasing, showing the retarding effect dominating the growth behavior of interface reaction layer not from the usual thermodynamic factors, such as interface reaction energy and composition gradient, but from the “atom vacancy” on formation of the reaction layer.

Key words: Te, thermoelectric device, diffusion dynamic, barrier, thermal stability

CLC Number: