Plasticity in single-crystalline Mg3Bi2 thermoelectric material

Peng Zhao, Wenhua Xue, Yue Zhang, Shizhen Zhi, Xiaojing Ma, Jiamin Qiu, Tianyu Zhang, Sheng Ye, Huimin Mu, Jinxuan Cheng, Xiaodong Wang, Shuaihang Hou, Lijia Zhao, Guoqiang Xie, Feng Cao, Xingjun Liu, Jun Mao (), Yuhao Fu (), Yumei Wang () and Qian Zhang ()
Additional contact information
Peng Zhao: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Wenhua Xue: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Yue Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shizhen Zhi: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Xiaojing Ma: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Jiamin Qiu: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Tianyu Zhang: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Sheng Ye: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Huimin Mu: Jilin University
Jinxuan Cheng: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Xiaodong Wang: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Shuaihang Hou: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Lijia Zhao: Northeastern University
Guoqiang Xie: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Feng Cao: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Xingjun Liu: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Jun Mao: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
Yuhao Fu: Jilin University
Yumei Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qian Zhang: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)

Nature, 2024, vol. 631, issue 8022, 777-782

Abstract: Abstract Most of the state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials are inorganic semiconductors. Owing to the directional covalent bonding, they usually show limited plasticity at room temperature1,2, for example, with a tensile strain of less than five per cent. Here we discover that single-crystalline Mg3Bi2 shows a room-temperature tensile strain of up to 100 per cent when the tension is applied along the (0001) plane (that is, the ab plane). Such a value is at least one order of magnitude higher than that of traditional thermoelectric materials and outperforms many metals that crystallize in a similar structure. Experimentally, slip bands and dislocations are identified in the deformed Mg3Bi2, indicating the gliding of dislocations as the microscopic mechanism of plastic deformation. Analysis of chemical bonding reveals multiple planes with low slipping barrier energy, suggesting the existence of several slip systems in Mg3Bi2. In addition, continuous dynamic bonding during the slipping process prevents the cleavage of the atomic plane, thus sustaining a large plastic deformation. Importantly, the tellurium-doped single-crystalline Mg3Bi2 shows a power factor of about 55 microwatts per centimetre per kelvin squared and a figure of merit of about 0.65 at room temperature along the ab plane, which outperforms the existing ductile thermoelectric materials3,4.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07621-8

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