A Practical Approach to Evaluate Lattice Thermal Conductivity in Two-Phase Thermoelectric Alloys for Energy Applications

Materials

Yaron Amouyal¹ 

[1] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel;

关键词: thermal conductivity;    thermoelectric materials;    first principles calculations;    vibrational properties;    lead−telluride-based compounds;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma10040386

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Modelling of the effects of materials’ microstructure on thermal transport is an essential tool for materials design, and is particularly relevant for thermoelectric (TE) materials converting heat into electrical energy. Precipitates dispersed in a TE matrix act as phonon-scattering centers, thereby reducing thermal conductivity. We introduce a practical approach to tailor a definite precipitate size distribution for a given TE matrix, and implement it for PbTe. We evaluate vibrational properties from first principles, and develop an expression for phonon relaxation time that considers both matrix vibrational properties and precipitate size distribution. This provides us with guidelines for optimizing thermal conductivity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown