Top-down method to fabricate TiNi1+xSn half-Heusler alloy with high thermoelectric performance

The top-down method was used to fabricate the TiNi1+xSn half-Heusler alloy. Several knotty problems have been solved using the top-down method, including the generation of impurity phases, the visible discrepancy in the grain size of the TiNi2Sn second phase, and irregular variations in the Seebeck coefficient (S), electrical conductivity (sigma), and thermal conductivity (kappa) with increasing Ni content. The generation of a large number of incoherent interfaces between the half-Heusler (HH) and full-Heusler (FH) phases fabricated by the top-down method drastically improved sigma and retained kappa and S, thereby leading to an enhancement in the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) by similar to 19 % for the TiNi1.05Sn sample as compared to the ZT of the samples prepared by the conventional method. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

The top-down method was used to fabricate TiNi1+xSn half-Heusler alloy, which effectively improved the thermoelectric performance of the material by solving multiple issues, leading to a significant enhancement in the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT).