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Tuning transport properties of nickel-doped zinc oxide for thermoelectric applications

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Abstract

ZnO-based oxides are promising for thermoelectric energy generation at elevated temperatures. We study electrical transport properties of Ni-doped ZnO applying the density functional theory, indicating increase of the electrical conductivity (σ) and decrease of the Seebeck coefficient (S) due to Ni-doping, in full accordance with experimental results. We calculate the temperature-dependent σ and S applying the Boltzmann transport theory, approximating the electron relaxation time, τe. Good agreement with experimental data is obtained considering both temperature and energy dependence of τe. This yields explicit expressions for τe and provides us with powerful predictive tool assessing electronic transport in ZnO.

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Acknowledgments

This study is carried out with generous support from the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption—Israel. Partial support from the Israeli Ministry of Energy as well as the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP) is acknowledged. The authors are grateful to Prof. Igor Abrikosov of Linköping University, Sweden, and the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS), Russia, for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000, Israel

    Andrei Baranovskiy, Ido Koresh & Yaron Amouyal

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  1. Andrei Baranovskiy
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  2. Ido Koresh
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  3. Yaron Amouyal
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Correspondence to Yaron Amouyal.

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Baranovskiy, A., Koresh, I. & Amouyal, Y. Tuning transport properties of nickel-doped zinc oxide for thermoelectric applications. MRS Communications 8, 858–864 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.96

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