Bulk and Surface Structure and High-Temperature Thermoelectric Properties of Inverse Clathrate-III in the Si-P-Te System
The creation of thermoelectric materials for waste heat recovery and direct solar energy conversion is a challenge that forces the development of compounds that combine appreciable thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit with high thermal and chemical stability. Here we propose a new candidate for high‐tempe...
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Published in | Chemistry : a European journal Vol. 16; no. 42; pp. 12582 - 12589 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Weinheim
WILEY-VCH Verlag
08.11.2010
WILEY‐VCH Verlag Wiley Subscription Services, Inc |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The creation of thermoelectric materials for waste heat recovery and direct solar energy conversion is a challenge that forces the development of compounds that combine appreciable thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit with high thermal and chemical stability. Here we propose a new candidate for high‐temperature thermoelectric materials, the type‐III Si172−xPxTey cationic clathrate, in which the framework is composed of partially ordered silicon and phosphorus atoms, whereas tellurium atoms occupy guest positions. We show that the utmost stability of this clathrate (up to 1500 K) in air is ensured by the formation of a nanosized layer of phosphorus‐doped silica on the surface, which prevents further oxidation and degradation. As‐cast (non‐optimized) Si‐P‐Te clathrates display rather high values of the thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit (ZT=0.24–0.36) in the temperature range of 700–1100 K. These ZT values are comparable to the best values achieved for the properly doped transition‐metal‐oxide materials. The methods of the thermoelectric efficiency optimization are discussed.
Thermoelectric Si‐P‐Te clathrate‐III: Si‐P‐Te clathrate‐III has been developed as a new high‐temperature thermoelectric material. Its utmost stability (up to 1500 K) in air is the result of the formation of a nanosized surface layer of phosphorus‐doped silica. The as‐prepared Si‐P‐Te clathrate displays high values of the thermoelectric figure‐of‐merit at temperatures up to 1100 K (see figure). Further methods of thermoelectric efficiency optimization for Si‐P‐Te clathrates are discussed. |
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Bibliography: | Russian Foundation for Basic Research istex:86D5B5975AAE7E7FA60B8B75D2D2B1E3876F7C5B ArticleID:CHEM201001990 ark:/67375/WNG-QPT3V9PQ-6 Max-Planck-Gesellschaft ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0947-6539 1521-3765 |
DOI: | 10.1002/chem.201001990 |