AUTHOR=Kuo Yung-Kang , Ramachandran Balakrishnan , Lue Chin-Shan TITLE=Optimization of thermoelectric performance of SrSi2-based alloys via the modification in band structure and phonon-point-defect scattering JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry VOLUME=2 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2014.00106 DOI=10.3389/fchem.2014.00106 ISSN=2296-2646 ABSTRACT=

Thermoelectric properties of alkaline-earth-metal disilicides are strongly dependent on their electronic band structure in the vicinity of the Fermi level. In particular, the strontium disilicide, SrSi2 with a narrow band gap of about few tens of meV is composed of non-toxic, naturally abundant elements, and its thermoelectric properties are very sensitive to the substitution/alloying with third elements. In this article, we summarize the thermoelectric performance of substituted and Sr-deficient/Sr-rich SrSi2 alloys to realize the high thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) for practical applications in the electronic and thermoelectric aspects, and also to explore the alternative routes to further improve its ZT value.