Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik

HL 24: Thermoelectricity

HL 24.1: Talk

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 09:30–09:45, EW 202

High-throughput exploration of alloying as design strategy for thermoelectrics — •Sandip Bhattacharya and Georg Madsen — ICAMS, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

The quintessential salient features of a modern thermoelectric material must be, large energy conversion efficiencies and that they must be comprised of economical and innocuous constituents. Along these lines, we will discuss a new materials design strategy based on Vegard's law to optimize the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, in binary alloys. Using a combinatorial high-throughput formalism we have explored 300 different binary M-X(X') systems, where M is a Group 1-12 element while X (X') is Si, Ge or Sn. We have identified eight promising candidates that are constituted by non-toxic and inexpensive elements and have the potential of a high zT, in addition to being thermodynamically stable. For the candidates, we shall also explore in detail the correlation between their electronic structures and thermoelectric properties, to understand the source of enhancement in their transport characteristics. Furthermore, we will discuss the descriptors used to quantify the improved thermoelectric performance and their ease of alloy formation.