Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties of 1-2-20 Compounds through Multi-filler Approach

ORAL

Abstract

Thermoelectric materials hold tremendous promise for advances in fundamental science and future applications; particularly for robust electricity generation in extreme and remote environments. Despite these advantages, for most materials the energy conversion efficiency is limited by the natural proportionality between the electrical and thermal conductivities and that the Seebeck coefficient of metals tends to be small. I will report the latest results for the continuous study of the heavy-fermion compounds YbTM2Zn20 (TM = Co, Rh, Ir) which exhibit a large power factor and a high thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, at 35 K. [1] Through further compositional modifications by introducing multiple fillers, significantly improved ZT values are achieved. The combination of the strongly hybridized f-electron state and the novel structural features (large unit cell and possible soft phonon modes) leads to the realization of “phonon glass/electron crystal” behavior and suggests that these systems could provide a platform for the next generation of low-temperature thermoelectric materials.

[1] Wei, et. al. Sci. Adv. 5, eaaw6183 (2019)

*This work was performed at the NHMFL, which is supported by NSF Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida.

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Presenters

  • Jorge Galeano Cabral

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University
    • Florida State University
    • FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University

Authors

  • Jorge Galeano Cabral

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University
    • Florida State University
    • FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University

  • Eliana Karr

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University
    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

  • Benny Schundelmier

    • Florida State University

  • Eun Sang Choi

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

  • Theo Siegrist

    • Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA
    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University
    • FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University
    • Florida State University

  • Juan Ordonez

    • Florida State University
    • FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University

  • Ryan Baumbach

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
    • Florida State University
    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University
    • Physics, NHMFL, Florida State University

  • Kaya Wei

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University
    • CMS, National High Magnetic Laboratory
    • Florida State University