TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhanced ZT of InxCo4Sb12-InSb Nanocomposites Fabricated by Hydrothermal Synthesis Combined with Solid-Vapor Reaction
T2 - A Signature of Phonon-Glass and Electron-Crystal Materials
AU - Gharleghi, Ahmad
AU - Hung, Peng Chun
AU - Lin, Fei Hung
AU - Liu, Chia Jyi
PY - 2016/12/28
Y1 - 2016/12/28
N2 - A rapid route of synthesizing pristine Co4Sb12 at relatively low temperature was previously developed. However, filling the voids using the same procedure is not successful. We develop a new route to fabricate In-filled cobalt skutterudites with InSb nanoinclusions InxCo4Sb12-(InSb)y via solid-vapor reaction between hydrothermally synthesized Co4Sb12 powder and the indium chunk. The nanocomposites are characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). With the success of partial filling of In into the voids and InSb nanoinclusions, the power factor of the InxCo4Sb12-(InSb)y nanocomposites is significantly enhanced, and the thermal conductivity is lowered as compared with the pristine Co4Sb12. As a result, ZT with its highest value of 1.0 is attained for the hierarchical structured In0.04Co4Sb12-(InSb)0.05 nanocomposite at 575 K. The attained ZT value is among the highest ever reported value at T ≤ 575 K for In-filled cobalt skutterudites.
AB - A rapid route of synthesizing pristine Co4Sb12 at relatively low temperature was previously developed. However, filling the voids using the same procedure is not successful. We develop a new route to fabricate In-filled cobalt skutterudites with InSb nanoinclusions InxCo4Sb12-(InSb)y via solid-vapor reaction between hydrothermally synthesized Co4Sb12 powder and the indium chunk. The nanocomposites are characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). With the success of partial filling of In into the voids and InSb nanoinclusions, the power factor of the InxCo4Sb12-(InSb)y nanocomposites is significantly enhanced, and the thermal conductivity is lowered as compared with the pristine Co4Sb12. As a result, ZT with its highest value of 1.0 is attained for the hierarchical structured In0.04Co4Sb12-(InSb)0.05 nanocomposite at 575 K. The attained ZT value is among the highest ever reported value at T ≤ 575 K for In-filled cobalt skutterudites.
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U2 - 10.1021/acsami.6b09026
DO - 10.1021/acsami.6b09026
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85008173438
VL - 8
SP - 35123
EP - 35131
JO - ACS applied materials & interfaces
JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces
SN - 1944-8244
IS - 51
ER -