Microstructure and Thermoelectric Properties of Doped FeSi2 with Addition of B4C Nanoparticles

β-FeSi2 with the addition of B4C nanoparticles was manufactured by sintering mechanically alloyed Fe and Si powders with Mn, Co, Al, P as p and n-type dopants. The consolidated samples were subsequently annealed at 1123 K for 36 ks. XRD analysis of sinters after annealing confirmed nearly full transformation from α and ε into thermoelectric β-FeSi2 phase. SEM observations of samples surface were compliant with the diffraction curves. TEM observations allowed to depict evenly distributed B4C nanoparticles thorough material, with no visible aggregates and establish grain size parameter d2 < 500 nm. All dopants contributed to lower thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, with Co having strongest influence on increasing electrical conductivity in relation to reference FeSi2. Combination of the addition of Co as dopant and B4C nanoparticles as phonon scatterer resulted in dimensionless figure of merit ZT reaching 7.6 × 10-2 at 773 K for Fe0.97Co0.03Si2 compound. Comparison of the thermoelectric properties of examined sinters to the previously manufactured of the same stoichiometry but without B4C nanoparticles revealed theirs overall negative influence.

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1. This work was conducted at Faculty of Materials and Engineering Warsaw University of Technology within the National Science Centre, Poland PRELUDIUM 7 grant entitled “The influence of dopants, nanoparticles, texture and manufacturing methods on thermoelectric properties of carbon disilicide” (2014/13/N/ST8/00619) and also supported by National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR, Poland) within a framework of the project entitled “Innovative thermoelectric modules for energy harvesting” (PBS3/A5/49/2015).

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2. Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa Nr 461252 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2021).