New sustainable ternary copper phosphide thermoelectrics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid State Chemistry
• Energy Conversion

Background:

• Thermoelectric materials enable waste heat energy harvesting.
• Developing efficient, cost-effective thermoelectric materials is crucial for sustainable energy solutions.
• Copper phosphides (ACuP) are explored as potential candidates due to abundant elements and low density.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the thermoelectric properties of ACuP (A = Mg, Ca) systems.
• To evaluate their potential for waste heat recovery applications.
• To understand the role of intrinsic defects in their performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of MgCuP and CaCuP.
• Measurement of thermoelectric properties, including power factor and figure of merit (zT).
• Analysis of defect structures, specifically copper vacancies.

Main Results:

• Both MgCuP and CaCuP exhibit p-type doping due to intrinsic copper vacancy defects.
• Achieved a promising figure of merit (zT) of 0.5 at 800 K.
• Demonstrated large power factors, indicating efficient thermoelectric conversion.

Conclusions:

• Copper phosphides represent a new class of promising thermoelectric materials.
• Their performance is suitable for practical waste heat harvesting.
• Abundant elements and low gravimetric density enhance their application potential.