Abstract
The temperature dependence data of the electrical conductivity σ(T), the Hall coefficient RH(T), the Seebeck coefficient S(T), and the Nernst coefficient Q(T) on a polycrystalline sample of undoped n-type ZrNiSn reported by Schrade et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 127(4), 045103 (2020)] have been analyzed in a model previously proposed, including both nearest-neighbor hopping and variable-range hopping in an impurity band. Through the simultaneous fits to the temperature dependence data of the four transport coefficients, the effective mass of electrons as well as the deformation potential is deduced together with the ionization energy of the donor level. The validity of the model is confirmed by applying it to the analysis of σ(T), RH(T), and S(T) on another polycrystalline sample of undoped n-type ZrNiSn reported by Hu et al. [ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 10(1), 864–872 (2018)].
Highlights
Semiconducting ZrNiSn has been most widely investigated among other half-Heusler compounds as one of the most important thermoelectric materials
Band calculations5,17–19 show that the conduction band minimum (CBM) of ZrNiSn is located at the X point
Simultaneous fits to the temperature dependence data of the transport coefficients have been performed on two polycrystalline samples of undoped n-type ZrNiSn
Summary
Semiconducting ZrNiSn has been most widely investigated among other half-Heusler compounds as one of the most important thermoelectric materials. One of the purposes of the present study is to dissolve this discrepancy regarding mdse by analyzing the temperature dependence of the four transport coefficients of the electrical conductivity σ(T), the Hall coefficient RH(T), the Seebeck coefficient S(T), and the Nernst coefficient Q(T) on an identical sample. Schrade et al. analyzed their experimental data of σ(T), RH(T), S(T), and Q(T) on a Pb-doped and an undoped n-type polycrystalline ZrNiSn sample with a semianalytical model combining a density functional theory (DFT) description for valence and conduction band states with a simple analytical correction for the impurity band.
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