We investigated the high-temperature thermoelectric properties of Ga:ZnO bulk compounds, synthesized using a simple and scalable solid-state process. The effects of a low gallium content (x ≤ 0.04 in ZnGaO) on the structural features and electrical/thermal properties are reviewed. Transmission electron microscopy analyses showed that 2D, nonperiodic defects had formed from a doping content as low as x = 0.01 Ga. The structural description of these nanoscale interfaces is, for the first time, carefully investigated in such low-Ga-content samples by HAADF-STEM analyses combined with structural modeling. It was found that the formation of head-to-head inversion twin (h-IT) boundaries and tail-to tail inversion boundaries (t-IB) in the bulk compounds is responsible for strong phonon scattering, while maintaining relatively good electrical conductivity and thereby enhancing the thermoelectric properties. The absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient decreases abruptly from 475 μV/K for x = 0 down to 60 μV/K for x = 0.005 at 350 K. At the same time, the electrical resistivity drops from 1 ohm cm for x = 0 to 1.7 × 10 ohm cm for x = 0.005. For higher Ga additions (x > 0.01), the increase in electrical resistivity is likely linked to the formation of interface defects at a larger extent in the wurtzite structure. The thermal conductivity also drops sharply with the increase in the Ga content from ∼33 W/m K for x = 0 to ∼8 for x = 0.04 at 350 K. This study is progress toward the synthesis of other thermoelectric materials where nanoscale interfaces in bulk compounds provide tremendous opportunities for further enhancing both the phonon scattering and the overall figure of merit.

No abstract

In/ZnO bulk compounds have been synthesized using a simple solid-state process. In this study, both the structural features and thermoelectric properties of the ZnInO series with ultralow indium content (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.02) have been studied. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy analyses highlight that indium has the ability to create multiple basal plane and pyramidal defects that produce ZnO domains with inverted polarity starting from dopant concentrations as low as 0.25 atom %. Interestingly, the formation of parallel inversion boundaries consisting of InO octahedra in the ZnO tetrahedra matrix is responsible for phonon scattering while increasing electrical conductivity, thereby enhancing the thermoelectric properties. This effect of multiple extended two-dimensional defects on the thermoelectric properties of ZnO is reported for the first time with such low indium doping. On the chemistry side, the present results point toward a lack of In solubility in the ZnO structure. Moreover, this study is a step forward to the synthesis of other thermoelectric compounds where dopant-induced planar defects in bulk transition metal compounds have the potential to enhance both phonon scattering and electronic conductivity.

In this work, we investigated the influence of Al doping on the structure of the (ZnO) 5 In 2 O 3 homologous phase and the thermoelectric characteristics of (ZnO) 5 (In 1Àx Al x ) 2 O 3 ceramics for x=0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2, prepared using a classic ceramic procedure and sintering at 1500°C for 2 hours. The Al substituted for In on both the primary sites in the Zn 5 (In 1Àx Al x ) 2 O 8 homologous phase, the octahedral sites in the basal-plane inversion boundaries and the trigonal bi-pyramidal sites in the zig-zag inversion boundaries, which resulted in a uniformly increased shrinkage of the unit cell with the additions of Al. The a and c parameters were reduced for x=0.2 by a maximum 0.8%. All the samples had similar microstructures, so the differences in the TE characteristics mainly resulted from the effects of the substitution of Al for In, decreasing the charge-carrier concentration and affecting their mobility. Slightly improved TE characteristics were only observed for Al additions with x=0.01-0.05, while larger additions of Al only resulted in a reduced electrical conductivity and decreased ZT values in comparison to the un-doped composition.