Half-Heusler alloys as emerging high power density thermoelectric cooling materials

Abstract

To achieve optimal thermoelectric performance, it is crucial to manipulate the scattering processes within materials to decouple the transport of phonons and electrons. In half-Heusler (hH) compounds, selective defect reduction can significantly improve performance due to the weak electron-acoustic phonon interaction. This study utilized Sb-pressure controlled annealing process to modulate the microstructure and point defects of Nb0.55Ta0.40Ti0.05FeSb compound, resulting in a 100% increase in carrier mobility and a maximum power factor of 78 µW cm−1 K−2, approaching the theoretical prediction for NbFeSb single crystal. This approach yielded the highest average zT of ~0.86 among hH in the temperature range of 300-873 K. The use of this material led to a 210% enhancement in cooling power density compared to Bi2Te3-based devices and a conversion efficiency of 12%. These results demonstrate a promising strategy for optimizing hH materials for near-room-temperature thermoelectric applications.