Unlocking the Potential of Zintl Compounds for Thermoelectrics

释放 Zintl 化合物在热电领域的潜力

• 批准号: 2307231
• 负责人: Susan Kauzlarich
• 金额: $ 50.12万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2307231&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Unlocking; Potential; Zintl; Compounds; Thermoelectrics

PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY With support from the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in NSF’s Division of Materials Research, the principal investigator and her research group at the University of California Davis synthesize and characterize new Zintl compounds. Zintl phases are compounds composed of metallic elements but have the properties of a semiconductor. This type of material has potentially excellent thermoelectric properties. Less expensive thermoelectric materials could alter the world’s energy landscape by converting waste heat into usable electricity and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. The energy conversion efficiency of a material requires low electrical resistivity like a metal and low thermal conductivity as in an insulator. The unique combination of composition and structure of Zintl phases can give rise to exceptional thermoelectric properties that can be further optimized by systematic substitution of individual elements. This project develops new structures and optimizes properties toward high efficiency thermoelectric materials. A new course for graduate students focused on resiliency, mental health and well-being is developed and assessed during the time of this award. This project also trains young scientists in structure determination and property measurements along with thermoelectric design and optimization. Graduate and undergraduate students’ scientific and social skills are developed through workshops, symposiums, and individualized mentoring. PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARY Efficient thermoelectric materials are required to impact energy conversion technologies. This project, with support from the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in NSF’s Division of Materials Research, provides new Zintl phase compounds via flux and direct synthesis and characterizes their properties with a goal of discovering new thermoelectric materials. Compounds with promising properties are then further optimized for their thermoelectric efficiency and provide new directions of research for the scientific community. Goals include the the synthesis of new compounds that have not yet been investigated and, e.g. morphological optimization of Zintl phases. Two-dimensional (layered) and one-dimensional (chain) containing phases are synthesized and their properties characterized. The properties of these new phases will be enhanced with alio- and iso-valent substitution towards better thermoelectric behavior. Graduate and undergraduate students learn a suite of physical characterization techniques and how to correlate structure and phase composition with electronic and thermal transport properties. In collaboration with the UC Davis graduate division, a mental wellness and scientific resiliency course is taught and assessed during the timeframe of this award. Graduate and undergraduate students can develop their scientific and social skills through workshops, symposiums, and mentorship. The research will be disseminated at national meetings and findings published in peer-reviewed journals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

第1部分：非技术摘要在NSF材料研究部固态和材料化学计划的支持下，首席研究员及其加利福尼亚大学戴维斯分校的研究小组合成并表征了新的Zintl化合物。 Zintl相是由金属元素组成的化合物，但具有半导体的特性。这种类型的材料具有出色的热电特性。较便宜的热电材料可以通过将废热转换为可用的电气并减少我们对化石燃料的依赖来改变世界的能源景观。材料的能量转化效率需要低电阻，例如金属和低导热率，如绝缘子中。 ZINTL阶段组成和结构的独特组合可以引起非凡的热电特性，可以通过系统的替换单个元素进一步优化。该项目开发了新的结构，并优化了高效率热电材料的特性。在此奖项期间，开发和评估了一项针对弹性，心理健康和福祉的新课程。该项目还培训了年轻的科学家在结构确定和财产测量以及热电设计和优化方面进行培训。研究生和本科生的科学和社交技能是通过研讨会，研讨会和个性化的心理发展发展的。第2部分：需要技术摘要有效的热电材料来影响能量转换技术。该项目在NSF材料研究部的固态和材料化学计划的支持下，通过通量和直接合成提供了新的ZINTL相化合物，并具有发现新的热电材料的目标。然后，具有承诺特性的化合物将针对其热电效率进行进一步优化，并为科学界提供新的研究方向。目标包括尚未研究的新化合物的合成，例如Zintl相的形态优化。合成了二维（分层）和一维（链）（链）的特性。这些新阶段的特性将通过Alio和Iso-Valent取代来增强，以更好地进行热电行为。研究生和本科生学习了一套物理表征技术，以及如何将结构和相组成与电子和热传输特性相关联。在与加州大学戴维斯分校的研究生部合作，在本奖项期间教授和评估了心理健康和科学弹性课程。研究生和本科生可以通过研讨会，研讨会和心态来发展他们的科学和社交技能。该研究将在同行评审期刊上发表的全国会议和调查结果中进行传播。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准，被认为是通过评估来获得的支持。