Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis

This study explores the enhancement of thermoelectric performance in ZnO nanostructures synthesized via a cost-effective sol-gel technique by incorporating transition metal dopants. The primary objective was to investigate the individual and combined effects of manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) dopin...

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Main Author: M.D. Alshahrani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025021085
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author M.D. Alshahrani
author_facet M.D. Alshahrani
author_sort M.D. Alshahrani
collection DOAJ
description This study explores the enhancement of thermoelectric performance in ZnO nanostructures synthesized via a cost-effective sol-gel technique by incorporating transition metal dopants. The primary objective was to investigate the individual and combined effects of manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) doping on the structural and thermoelectric properties of ZnO. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that all doped and co-doped samples retained the hexagonal wurtzite ZnO structure, indicating successful doping without forming secondary phases. Co-doping with Cr and Mn significantly influenced both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity. The Zn0.98Cr0.01Mn0.01O sample exhibited the highest Seebeck coefficient of 253.7 µV/K and an enhanced electrical conductivity of 7.4 S/cm. These improvements are attributed to the introduction of mid-gap states through substitutional doping, which increases carrier concentration and spin polarization. As a result, the co-doped ZnO sample achieved the highest thermoelectric power factor of approximately 6.67 × 10–5 Wcm-1K-2. These findings demonstrate that Cr/Mn co-doping is an effective strategy to improve the thermoelectric performance of ZnO nanostructures, paving the way for their potential application in energy conversion devices.
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spelling doaj-art-b0e855108fc64481ad4cbefbabee8b902025-08-20T03:30:24ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710603610.1016/j.rineng.2025.106036Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesisM.D. Alshahrani0Corresponding author.; Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 551, Bisha, 61922, Saudi ArabiaThis study explores the enhancement of thermoelectric performance in ZnO nanostructures synthesized via a cost-effective sol-gel technique by incorporating transition metal dopants. The primary objective was to investigate the individual and combined effects of manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) doping on the structural and thermoelectric properties of ZnO. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that all doped and co-doped samples retained the hexagonal wurtzite ZnO structure, indicating successful doping without forming secondary phases. Co-doping with Cr and Mn significantly influenced both the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity. The Zn0.98Cr0.01Mn0.01O sample exhibited the highest Seebeck coefficient of 253.7 µV/K and an enhanced electrical conductivity of 7.4 S/cm. These improvements are attributed to the introduction of mid-gap states through substitutional doping, which increases carrier concentration and spin polarization. As a result, the co-doped ZnO sample achieved the highest thermoelectric power factor of approximately 6.67 × 10–5 Wcm-1K-2. These findings demonstrate that Cr/Mn co-doping is an effective strategy to improve the thermoelectric performance of ZnO nanostructures, paving the way for their potential application in energy conversion devices.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025021085Co-dopingZnOThermoelectricPower factorXRDSEM
spellingShingle M.D. Alshahrani
Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis
Results in Engineering
Co-doping
ZnO
Thermoelectric
Power factor
XRD
SEM
title Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis
title_full Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis
title_fullStr Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis
title_full_unstemmed Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis
title_short Enhanced thermoelectric power factor of Mn/Cr co-doped ZnO nanostructures via low-cost sol-gel synthesis
title_sort enhanced thermoelectric power factor of mn cr co doped zno nanostructures via low cost sol gel synthesis
topic Co-doping
ZnO
Thermoelectric
Power factor
XRD
SEM
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025021085
work_keys_str_mv AT mdalshahrani enhancedthermoelectricpowerfactorofmncrcodopedznonanostructuresvialowcostsolgelsynthesis