Thermoelectric Properties of Iron Disilicide Prepared by Field-Activated Synthesis Process

Abstract

Iron disilicide（-FeSi2）compounds were synthesized by field-activated pressure assisted synthesis (FAPAS) process, and their thermoelectric properties were measured. Fine microstructure with small pores was obtained in the fabricated samples. The average grain size was approximately 0.3 m. The thermal conductivity in the temperature range of 300-725 K was 3-4 Wm-1K-1, which was considerably lower than that of the same materials synthesized by other methods including SPS process. Lower thermal conductivity provided a higher figure of merit, ZT of 28.50×10-4 in the temperature range of 330-450 K.