Decreasing the Carrier Concentration of ZrNiSn: An Opposite Way to the Best N-Type Half-Heusler Thermoelectrics

N-type ZrNiSn-based alloys reach a record thermoelectric figure of merit zT & AP;1.2 by increasing the carrier concentration to 4-5 x 1020 cm-3. In this work, It is reported that a comparable zT can also be realized in trace Ru-doped ZrNiSn-based alloy at even lower temperature by decreasing the carrier concentration. Compared to the previously reported Co doping, the doping of Ru results in a more effective reduction in carrier concentration, and thus higher Seebeck coefficient, lower electronic thermal conductivity, and enhanced thermoelectric performance. The electronic specific heat coefficient of the ZrNi1-xRuxSn sample remains constant with increasing Ru content, indicating no obvious change in the density of states effective mass. Theoretical calculations show that the doping of Ru has negligible effect on the bottom of conduction band. The lattice thermal conductivity is further reduced by alloying Ti and Hf at the Zr site, and the bipolar diffusion is suppressed by doping of 0.5 at.% Sb. As a result, Ti0.25Zr0.5Hf0.25Ni0.99Ru0.01Sn0.995Sb0.005 reaches not only a zT value of 1.1 at 773 K but also a record average zT value of 0.8 in 300 to 873 K, demonstrating the effectiveness of trace Ru doping on boosting the thermoelectric performance of ZrNiSn-based alloys. The thermoelectric properties of ZrNiSn are effectively optimized by doping trace Ru to reduce the carrier concentration, which is opposite to the routine strategy. Ti0.25Zr0.5Hf0.25Ni0.99Ru0.01Sn0.995Sb0.005 with the room-temperature electron concentration of 1.8 x 1020 cm-3 achieves a zT value of 1.1 at 773 K and a record average zT value of 0.8 in the temperature range of 300-873 K.image