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Improvement in the Thermoelectric Figure-of-Merit of TAGS-85 by Rare Earth Additions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2011

B. A. Cook ,
J. L. Harringa ,
M. Besser  and
R. Venkatasubramanian
B. A. Cook
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science & Engineering, Ames Laboratory, Ames, IA 50011, USA Center for Solid State Energetics, RTI, International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
J. L. Harringa
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science & Engineering, Ames Laboratory, Ames, IA 50011, USA
M. Besser
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science & Engineering, Ames Laboratory, Ames, IA 50011, USA
R. Venkatasubramanian
Affiliation:
Center for Solid State Energetics, RTI, International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
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Abstract

TAGS-85 is a well-known thermoelectric material based on germanium monotelluride that exhibits a second-order displacive transformation from a high-temperature cubic to a low-temperature rhombohedral polymorph. Recent efforts to improve the thermoelectric figure-of-merit through the addition of small amounts of the rare earth elements Ce and Yb have demonstrated a 25 percent increase in ZT at 700K in materials obtained by solidification from the melt. Preliminary analysis by x-ray diffraction of the chemically-modified alloy suggests a partial stabilization of the high-temperature cubic polymorph. 125Te NMR studies confirm the incorporation of rare earth cations into the GeTe-based lattice. Solid state synthesis has been successfully applied to the processing of rare-earth-doped TAGS-85 and has resulted in a further increase in ZT beyond the levels initially observed in melt-solidified materials. This is believed to be due to improved homogeneity in the distribution of the lanthanide.

Keywords

thermoelectriclanthanidemechanical alloying
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1325: Symposium E – Energy Harvesting—Recent Advances in Materials, Devices and Applications , 2011 , mrss11-1325-e07-03
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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