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Enhanced thermoelectric performance of ternary compound Cu3PSe4 by defect engineering

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Abstract

The diamond-like compound Cu3PSe4 with low lattice thermal conductivity is deemed to be a promising thermoelectric material, which can directly convert waste heat into electricity or vice versa with no moving parts and greenhouse emissions. However, its performance is limited by its low electrical conductivity. In this study, we report an effective method to enhance thermoelectric performance of Cu3PSe4 by defect engineering. It is found that the carrier concentrations of Cu3−xPSe4 (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09, 0.12) compounds are increased by two orders of magnitude as x > 0.03, from 1 × 1017 to 1 × 1019 cm−3. Combined with the intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivities and enhanced electrical transport performance, a maximum zT value of 0.62 is obtained at 727 K for x = 0.12 sample, revealing that Cu defect regulation can be an effective method for enhancing thermoelectric performance of Cu3PSe4.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Graduate Scientific Research and Innovation Foundation of Chongqing, China (No. CYB 19064), the Project for Fundamental and Frontier Research in Chongqing (No. CSTC2017JCYJAX0388), Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (No. JCYJ20170818155752559), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51772035, 11674040 and 51472036) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 106112017CDJQJ308821). We would like to thank the Analytical and Testing Center of Chongqing University for the assistance with the Hall measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Smart Materials, College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Yu-Meng Zhang, Xing-Chen Shen, Yan-Ci Yan, Xu Lu & Xiao-Yuan Zhou

  2. Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Nanobiomechanics, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Jiang-Yu Li

  3. Analytical and Testing Center of Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Gui-Wen Wang & Xiao-Yuan Zhou

  4. Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Chongqing, 400714, China

    Xing-Chen Shen & Guo-Yu Wang

  5. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China

    Xing-Chen Shen & Guo-Yu Wang

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  1. Yu-Meng Zhang
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  2. Xing-Chen Shen
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  3. Yan-Ci Yan
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  4. Gui-Wen Wang
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  5. Guo-Yu Wang
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  6. Jiang-Yu Li
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  7. Xu Lu
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  8. Xiao-Yuan Zhou
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Correspondence to Xu Lu or Xiao-Yuan Zhou.

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Zhang, YM., Shen, XC., Yan, YC. et al. Enhanced thermoelectric performance of ternary compound Cu3PSe4 by defect engineering. Rare Met. 39, 1256–1261 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01468-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01468-4

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