Using materials quality factor BΔΕ∗ for design of thermoelectric materials with multiple bands

X. Jia, S. Li, Z. Zhang, Y. Deng, X. Li, Y. Cao, Y. Yan, J. Mao, J. Yang, Q. Zhang, X. Liu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The quality factor B involving carrier mobility, state density effective mass, and lattice thermal conductivity has always been regarded as the guidance for the thermoelectric materials design. However, the traditional quality factor considers a single band and neglects the influence of band gap and the sub-band, whose edge energy is 5 kBT lower than valence band maximum for the p-type or higher than conduction band minimum for n-type semiconductor. In this work, we took into account the band gap and second band based on the three-parabolic-band model and derived an advanced quality factor BΔE, which is better proportional to the peak ZT values of many compounds with multiple bands. A specific example is also validated based on this quality factor that a highest BΔE appears when x = 0.8 for (Yb0.9Mg0.1)MgxZn2-xSb2, leading to the highest ZT value at this composition.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100371
JournalMaterials Today Physics
Volume18
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Band offset
  • Multiple bands
  • Quality factor
  • Thermoelectric materials

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Using materials quality factor BΔΕ∗ for design of thermoelectric materials with multiple bands'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this