Preparation of Higher Manganese Silicide (HMS) bulk and Fe-containing HMS bulk using a Na–Si Melt and their thermoelectrical properties

Abstract

Polycrystalline bulk of higher manganese silicide (HMS) was prepared by heating a compact body of Mn powder in a Na–Si melt at 800 °C for 12 h. The density of the bulk sample was 75% of the theoretical one. The sample showed the highest non-dimensional figure of merit, ZT, of 0.31 at 525 °C. Inhomogeneous distributions of Mn and Fe were observed in the Fe-containing bulk samples prepared from the compact bodies of the mixtures of Mn and Fe powders. The relative densities of samples containing 10 and 20 at.% Fe were 80 and 84% of the theoretical density of HMS, respectively. The maximum ZT values of the samples were 0.31 at 525 °C for the 10 at.% Fe-containing sample and 0.06 at 475 °C for the 20 at.% one.