文章基本信息

标题：Enhanced thermoelectric performance of β-Zn4Sb3 based nanocomposites through combined effects of density of states resonance and carrier energy filtering
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作者：Tianhua Zou ; Xiaoying Qin ; Yongsheng Zhang 等
期刊名称：Scientific Reports
电子版ISSN：2045-2322
出版年度：2015
卷号：5
期号：1
DOI：10.1038/srep17803
语种：English
出版社：Springer Nature
摘要：It is a major challenge to elevate the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of materials through enhancing their power factor (PF) and reducing the thermal conductivity at the same time. Experience has shown that engineering of the electronic density of states (eDOS) and the energy filtering mechanism (EFM) are two different effective approaches to improve the PF. However, the successful combination of these two methods is elusive. Here we show that the PF of β-Zn₄Sb₃ can greatly benefit from both effects. Simultaneous resonant distortion in eDOS via Pb-doping and energy filtering via introduction of interface potentials result in a ~40% increase of PF and an approximately twofold reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity due to interface scattering. Accordingly, the ZT of β-Pb_0.02Zn_3.98Sb₃ with 3 vol.% of Cu₃SbSe₄ nanoinclusions reaches a value of 1.4 at 648 K. The combination of eDOS engineering and EFM would potentially facilitate the development of high-performance thermoelectric materials.