Preparation and performance enhancement of CuAlO2 thermoelectrics by high orientation and doping
摘要
CuAlO2 compacts were prepared by a tape-casting method followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS). During tape casting, plate-like Al2O3 particles were distributed along the flow direction of the slurry owing to the shear-thinning effect. This significantly increased the degree of orientation of the CuAlO2 compacts formed during SPS. To dope Mg into CuAlO2, MgO powder was added to the received material powders. The results showed that TC-1273–CuAlO2-Mg (1% + 5%) exhibited the highest thermoelectric performance with a ZT value of 0.09 at 973 K. The effects of the degree of orientation, Mg addition, and reaction compounds on the thermoelectric properties are discussed.