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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2023, 12(2): 228-241 https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2023.9220676
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 10 January 2023

Thermoelectric enhancement of p-type Si80Ge20 alloy via co-compositing of dual oxides: Respective regulation for power factor and thermal conductivity by β-Ga2O3 and SiO2 aerogel powders

Show Author's Information Huajun Laia,b,  Ying Pengb,  Mengfei Wangc,  Runze Shia,  Junliang Chena,  Chengyan Liua,  Yifeng Wangd,  Lei Miaoa,c( ),  Haiqiao Weie( )
Key Laboratory of Information Material, Ministry of Education, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Material, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Precision Navigation Technology and Application, School of Information and Communication, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Keywords:
Ga2O3, thermoelectric (TE) materials, SiGe, SiO2 aerogel (a-SiO2), average velocity of sound, hierarchical scattering
Cite this article:
Lai H, Peng Y, Wang M, et al. Thermoelectric enhancement of p-type Si80Ge20 alloy via co-compositing of dual oxides: Respective regulation for power factor and thermal conductivity by β-Ga2O3 and SiO2 aerogel powders. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2023, 12(2): 228-241. https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2023.9220676
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Si-based thermoelectric (TE) materials are exhibiting remarkable perspectives in self-energized applications with their special advantages. However, the relatively high total thermal conductivity (κ) prevents their TE enhancement. Here, a strategy of co-compositing dual oxides was implemented for enhancing the TE properties of p-type Si80Ge20 bulks. Composited Ga2O3 was demonstrated to enhance the power factor (PF) due to the crystallization-induced effect of produced Ga by decomposition on SiGe matrix. Associating with compositing SiO2 aerogel (a-SiO2) powder, not only introduced the fine amorphous inclusions and decreased the grain size of host matrix, but also various nano morphologies were formed, i.e., nano inclusions, precipitations, twin boundaries (TBs), and faults. Combining with the eutectic Ge, hierarchical scattering centers impeded the phonon transport comprehensively (decreasing the phonon group velocity ( va) and relaxation time) for reducing the lattice-induced thermal conductivity ( κl). As a result, a minimum κ of 2.38 W·m−1·K−1 was achieved, which is significantly dropped by 32.6% in contrast with that of the pristine counterpart. Ultimately, a maximal dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of 0.9 was achieved at 600 ℃, which is better than those of most corresponding oxide-composited Si-based bulks.


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About this article

Thermoelectric enhancement of p-type Si80Ge20 alloy via co-compositing of dual oxides: Respective regulation for power factor and thermal conductivity by β-Ga2O3 and SiO2 aerogel powders

Show Author's information Huajun Laia,b, Ying Pengb, Mengfei Wangc, Runze Shia, Junliang Chena, Chengyan Liua, Yifeng Wangd, Lei Miaoa,c( ), Haiqiao Weie( )
Key Laboratory of Information Material, Ministry of Education, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Material, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Precision Navigation Technology and Application, School of Information and Communication, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China
State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

Abstract

Si-based thermoelectric (TE) materials are exhibiting remarkable perspectives in self-energized applications with their special advantages. However, the relatively high total thermal conductivity (κ) prevents their TE enhancement. Here, a strategy of co-compositing dual oxides was implemented for enhancing the TE properties of p-type Si80Ge20 bulks. Composited Ga2O3 was demonstrated to enhance the power factor (PF) due to the crystallization-induced effect of produced Ga by decomposition on SiGe matrix. Associating with compositing SiO2 aerogel (a-SiO2) powder, not only introduced the fine amorphous inclusions and decreased the grain size of host matrix, but also various nano morphologies were formed, i.e., nano inclusions, precipitations, twin boundaries (TBs), and faults. Combining with the eutectic Ge, hierarchical scattering centers impeded the phonon transport comprehensively (decreasing the phonon group velocity ( va) and relaxation time) for reducing the lattice-induced thermal conductivity ( κl). As a result, a minimum κ of 2.38 W·m−1·K−1 was achieved, which is significantly dropped by 32.6% in contrast with that of the pristine counterpart. Ultimately, a maximal dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of 0.9 was achieved at 600 ℃, which is better than those of most corresponding oxide-composited Si-based bulks.

Keywords: Ga2O3, thermoelectric (TE) materials, SiGe, SiO2 aerogel (a-SiO2), average velocity of sound, hierarchical scattering

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Publication history

Received: 14 August 2022
Revised: 11 October 2022
Accepted: 14 October 2022
Published: 10 January 2023
Issue date: February 2023

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2022.

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U21A2054, 52061009, 52273285, and 52262032), Guangxi Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2020GXNSFAA159111), Guangxi Science and Technology Project (Grant Nos. 2021AC19206 and AD20159006), and the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFE0198000).

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