Enhanced thermoelectric performance in Fe₂CrAl1−2xNixSnx Heusler alloys through co-doping and electronic structure optimization
摘要
The thermoelectric properties of co-doping Fe2CrAl1−2xNixSnx (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2) Heusler alloys were systematically investigated through combined experimental characterization and first-principles calculations to understand the structure–property relationships governing transport performance. Density functional theory calculations reveal a dramatic 17-fold enhancement in density of states near the Fermi level, increasing from 2–3 states/eV for the parent Fe2CrAl to 52 states/eV with Ni–Sn substitution, providing fundamental insights into the electronic structure modifications. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates systematic phase evolution with composition, where x = 0.1 exhibits coherent Ni3Sn2 precipitates. Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity measurements from 300–700 K reveal thermally activated conduction above 550 K, with energy gap analysis showing non-monotonic behavior and a maximum energy gap of 12.2 meV at x = 0.1. This enhanced energy gap effectively suppresses bipolar conduction effects at elevated temperatures, extending the useful operating range for thermoelectric applications. Thermal conductivity measurements indicate optimal phonon scattering at x = 0.1, where lattice thermal conductivity reaches a minimum of 5.03 Wm−1 K−1 at 300 K. The synergistic combination of enhanced electronic properties through secondary phase formation and reduced thermal conductivity results in an 882% relative improvement in thermoelectric figure of merit compared to the parent Fe2CrAl compound, reaching an absolute ZT value of 1.67 × 10−3 for the x = 0.1 composition at 700 K. While this represents significant progress in Fe2CrAl-based materials, the absolute ZT remains modest compared to state-of-the-art Heusler thermoelectrics such as Fe2VAl (ZT ~ 0.5) and requires further optimization for practical applications.