MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material
The p-type thermoelectric (TE) material α-MgAgSb is a promising tellurium-free bismuth telluride substitute for cooling and waste heat harvesting applications between room temperature and 573 K. Optimization of the material resulted in high values of figure of merit (zTmax = 1.3) to date, but perfor...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | Science and Technology of Advanced Materials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14686996.2025.2506982 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849724154688831488 |
|---|---|
| author | Amandine Helt Amandine Duparchy Aidan Cowley Eckhard Müller Johannes de Boor |
| author_facet | Amandine Helt Amandine Duparchy Aidan Cowley Eckhard Müller Johannes de Boor |
| author_sort | Amandine Helt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The p-type thermoelectric (TE) material α-MgAgSb is a promising tellurium-free bismuth telluride substitute for cooling and waste heat harvesting applications between room temperature and 573 K. Optimization of the material resulted in high values of figure of merit (zTmax = 1.3) to date, but performance optimization of TE devices also requires minimizing the electrical contact resistance between the TE material and the electrodes. Here, we investigate the metallization of MgAgSb with MgCuSb, providing microstructural and electrical analyses of the interfaces for functionalized legs obtained from a combined sintering of both materials systematically varying temperature, duration and pressure. Analysis of the obtained results reveals the formation of an interdiffusion layer of Ag3Sb with varying thickness in all samples, but the contact resistance remains consistently below 10 μΩ cm2. Microprobe measurements of the Seebeck coefficient indicate a change in carrier concentration in the TE material close to the interface, visualizing interdiffusion processes between MgAgSb and MgCuSb. We furthermore demonstrate that MgCuSb can successfully be applied as an electrode on pre-compacted MgAgSb samples, resulting in the first ever reported successful two-step contacting of MgAgSb. The obtained sample exhibits a strong mechanical contact without any crack at the interface, as well as a very low electrical contact resistance below 7 µΩ cm2, representing less than 5% of the total leg resistance. Successful contacting of pre-compacted material is a step forward towards module fabrication as it enables better control of the TE leg length and thus device performance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-86d3c27b4a6b49d9a4f7c66d641bb8a3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1468-6996 1878-5514 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Science and Technology of Advanced Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-86d3c27b4a6b49d9a4f7c66d641bb8a32025-08-20T03:10:49ZengTaylor & Francis GroupScience and Technology of Advanced Materials1468-69961878-55142025-12-0126110.1080/14686996.2025.2506982MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric materialAmandine Helt0Amandine Duparchy1Aidan Cowley2Eckhard Müller3Johannes de Boor4Institute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, GermanyInstitute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, GermanyEuropean Astronaut Centre, European Space Agency (ESA), Cologne, GermanyInstitute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, GermanyInstitute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, GermanyThe p-type thermoelectric (TE) material α-MgAgSb is a promising tellurium-free bismuth telluride substitute for cooling and waste heat harvesting applications between room temperature and 573 K. Optimization of the material resulted in high values of figure of merit (zTmax = 1.3) to date, but performance optimization of TE devices also requires minimizing the electrical contact resistance between the TE material and the electrodes. Here, we investigate the metallization of MgAgSb with MgCuSb, providing microstructural and electrical analyses of the interfaces for functionalized legs obtained from a combined sintering of both materials systematically varying temperature, duration and pressure. Analysis of the obtained results reveals the formation of an interdiffusion layer of Ag3Sb with varying thickness in all samples, but the contact resistance remains consistently below 10 μΩ cm2. Microprobe measurements of the Seebeck coefficient indicate a change in carrier concentration in the TE material close to the interface, visualizing interdiffusion processes between MgAgSb and MgCuSb. We furthermore demonstrate that MgCuSb can successfully be applied as an electrode on pre-compacted MgAgSb samples, resulting in the first ever reported successful two-step contacting of MgAgSb. The obtained sample exhibits a strong mechanical contact without any crack at the interface, as well as a very low electrical contact resistance below 7 µΩ cm2, representing less than 5% of the total leg resistance. Successful contacting of pre-compacted material is a step forward towards module fabrication as it enables better control of the TE leg length and thus device performance.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14686996.2025.2506982MgAgSbthermoelectricitydevicescontactingMgCuSbelectrode |
| spellingShingle | Amandine Helt Amandine Duparchy Aidan Cowley Eckhard Müller Johannes de Boor MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material Science and Technology of Advanced Materials MgAgSb thermoelectricity devices contacting MgCuSb electrode |
| title | MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material |
| title_full | MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material |
| title_fullStr | MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material |
| title_full_unstemmed | MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material |
| title_short | MgCuSb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material |
| title_sort | mgcusb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre compacted pellets of mgagsb thermoelectric material |
| topic | MgAgSb thermoelectricity devices contacting MgCuSb electrode |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14686996.2025.2506982 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amandinehelt mgcusbasasuitableelectrodeforcontactingprecompactedpelletsofmgagsbthermoelectricmaterial AT amandineduparchy mgcusbasasuitableelectrodeforcontactingprecompactedpelletsofmgagsbthermoelectricmaterial AT aidancowley mgcusbasasuitableelectrodeforcontactingprecompactedpelletsofmgagsbthermoelectricmaterial AT eckhardmuller mgcusbasasuitableelectrodeforcontactingprecompactedpelletsofmgagsbthermoelectricmaterial AT johannesdeboor mgcusbasasuitableelectrodeforcontactingprecompactedpelletsofmgagsbthermoelectricmaterial |