Thermoelectric Transport Properties of Fe-Enriched ZnO with High-Temperature Nanostructure Refinement

Thermoelectric properties of Fe-doped ZnO materials are investigated and correlated with the phase and microstructural evolution. Both a ZnO solid solution phase and a ZnFe2O4 spinel phase are observed. Analysis was made of temperature measurements of Seebeck coefficients as combined with the law of mixture to estimate the Fermi level in the constituent phases, which are further correlated with the Fe solute concentration in ZnO lattices and the overall electrical conductivity. In addition, the thermoelectric figure of merit is found to increase with the actual Fe content in ZnO lattices, due to the reduced thermal conductivity by point defect scattering of phonons and enhanced electrical transport via electron doping. The maximum achievable power factor of Fe-doped ZnO material is found to be similar to that of the ZnO-In2O3 system. Another important finding of the present work is the significant nanostructure refinement in 18 month old FeO1.5-doped ZnO after high-temperature thermal treatment, leading to further reduced thermal conductivity, which is beneficial and promising for high-temperature thermoelectric performance.