Location
Havener Center, St. Pat's Ballroom C
Presentation Date
April 21, 2023, 3:15pm-4:15pm
Session
Session 4
Description
Thermoelectric Zintl phases have the ability to convert waste heat into useful electrical energy, making them valuable in various energy harvesting applications. In these Zintl phases, a high zT (thermoelectric Figure of Merit) indicates more efficient thermoelectric properties. The technique used, a self-flux method, is implemented as a relatively simple way of synthesizing Zintl phases with a higher thermoelectric Figure of Merit. This method uses an excess of reactive flux element, which acts as both a component of the Zintl phase and a reaction medium, and two other elements that are incorporated into the material. The materials with higher melting points are placed at the bottom of a quartz glass ampoule. The materials with lower melting points act as the flux and are placed on top. The flux melts and incorporates the other elements, providing a liquid solution for the ternary reactions to take place. A stoichiometric ratio of 14-1-11 was used to attempt to grow unit crystals. Preliminary results suggest new materials of Ca14In1Sb11 and Ca14In1Bi11 have been grown, but further testing is required to confirm the results.
Meeting Name
32nd Annual Spring Meeting of the NASA-Mo Space Grant Consortium
Document Type
Presentation
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2023 The Authors, all rights reserved.
Exploratory Growths of the Ternary 14-1-11 Family of Thermoelectric Zintl Phases Using a Self-Flux Method
Havener Center, St. Pat's Ballroom C
Thermoelectric Zintl phases have the ability to convert waste heat into useful electrical energy, making them valuable in various energy harvesting applications. In these Zintl phases, a high zT (thermoelectric Figure of Merit) indicates more efficient thermoelectric properties. The technique used, a self-flux method, is implemented as a relatively simple way of synthesizing Zintl phases with a higher thermoelectric Figure of Merit. This method uses an excess of reactive flux element, which acts as both a component of the Zintl phase and a reaction medium, and two other elements that are incorporated into the material. The materials with higher melting points are placed at the bottom of a quartz glass ampoule. The materials with lower melting points act as the flux and are placed on top. The flux melts and incorporates the other elements, providing a liquid solution for the ternary reactions to take place. A stoichiometric ratio of 14-1-11 was used to attempt to grow unit crystals. Preliminary results suggest new materials of Ca14In1Sb11 and Ca14In1Bi11 have been grown, but further testing is required to confirm the results.
