Journal of Inorganic Materials, Volume. 38, Issue 12, 1396(2023)

Effects of Different Element Doping on Microstructure and Thermoelectric Properties of CaTiO3

Jianbo LI1, Zhen TIAN1, Quanwei JIANG1, Lifeng YU1, Huijun KANG1,2、*, Zhiqiang CAO1,2, and Tongmin WANG1,2
Author Affiliations
  • 11. Key Laboratory of Solidification Control and Digital Preparation Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
  • 22. Ningbo Institute of Dalian University of Technology, Ningbo 315000, China
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    Despite the growing research in CaTiO3 as a novel high-temperature oxide thermoelectric material, effects of various elements doping on the microstructure and thermoelectric performance of CaTiO3 have not been fully understood. Here, a combination of hydrothermal synthesis and vacuum hot-press sintering techniques was employed to fabricate polycrystalline bulks of CaTiO3 doped with six elements: Cr, Nb, Eu, Dy, Ce, and La. Cr doping resulted in substantial precipitation of nanoscale Cr phases, leading to a severely compromised power factor and a ZT of only 0.012 at 983 K due to insufficient donor element concentration in the matrix. Incorporating Eu as a donor carrier in the matrix is proved ineffective, resulting in a marginal ZT enhancement of 0.141 at 1031 K. Nb doping resulted in the formation of micrometer-scale Nb phases with high thermal conductivity, leading to an elevation in thermal conductivity. However, the relatively higher Nb concentration in the matrix provided carriers, resulting in a noticeable ZT improvement to 0.263 at 1013 K. On the contrary, Dy, Ce, and La doping exhibited remarkable dual functionality as donor dopants and point defects, thereby significantly enhancing the power factor and concurrently reducing the lattice thermal conductivity. These improvements were achieved through efficient manipulation of carrier concentration and implementation of phonon scattering. As a result, the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) reached 0.357, 0.398, and 0.329 at 1031 K for Dy, Ce, and La-doped CaTiO3 bulks, respectively. These values represent an extraordinary improvement of 296%, 342%, and 265%, respectively, as compared to that of the pristine CaTiO3 (0.096 @1031 K). Notably, Dy-doped samples exhibited significantly reduced lattice thermal conductivity and comparatively higher power factors over the entire temperature range. Regulating Dy content and enhancing the second phase at grain boundaries enabled the decoupling of electrical and thermal transport properties, potentially surpassing the current ZT record of CaTiO3. This study provides valuable insights into the relationships among composition, structure, and performance in CaTiO3 doped with various elements, offering theoretical support for high-temperature thermoelectric applications.

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    Jianbo LI, Zhen TIAN, Quanwei JIANG, Lifeng YU, Huijun KANG, Zhiqiang CAO, Tongmin WANG. Effects of Different Element Doping on Microstructure and Thermoelectric Properties of CaTiO3[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2023, 38(12): 1396

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    Paper Information

    Category:

    Received: Jun. 19, 2023

    Accepted: --

    Published Online: Mar. 6, 2024

    The Author Email: KANG Huijun (kanghuijun@dlut.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.15541/jim20230288

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