Nanostructured half-Heuslers for thermoelectric waste heat recovery
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Barczak S
(2019)
Suppression of thermal conductivity without impeding electron mobility in n-type XNiSn half-Heusler thermoelectrics
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Barczak SA
(2018)
Grain-by-Grain Compositional Variations and Interstitial Metals-A New Route toward Achieving High Performance in Half-Heusler Thermoelectrics.
in ACS applied materials & interfaces
Ferluccio D
(2019)
Low thermal conductivity and promising thermoelectric performance in A x CoSb (A = V, Nb or Ta) half-Heuslers with inherent vacancies
in Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Halpin J
(2022)
A Correlative Study of Interfacial Segregation in a Cu-Doped TiNiSn Thermoelectric half-Heusler Alloy
in ACS Applied Electronic Materials
Halpin JE
(2019)
An in-situ approach for preparing atom probe tomography specimens by xenon plasma-focussed ion beam.
in Ultramicroscopy
He H
(2021)
Atom Probe Tomography of a Cu-Doped TiNiSn Thermoelectric Material: Nanoscale Structure and Optimization of Analysis Conditions.
in Microscopy and microanalysis : the official journal of Microscopy Society of America, Microbeam Analysis Society, Microscopical Society of Canada
Webster R
(2019)
Spontaneous formation of nanostructures during pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial half-Heusler TiNiSn on MgO(001)
in APL Materials
Webster R
(2020)
Epitaxial vanadium nanolayers to suppress interfacial reactions during deposition of titanium-bearing Heusler alloys on MgO(0 0 1)
in Applied Surface Science
Webster R
(2020)
Correction of EELS dispersion non-uniformities for improved chemical shift analysis.
in Ultramicroscopy
| Description | We have discovered viable thermoelectric performance in the n-type half-Heusler TiNiCuySn, which contains only abundant elements. The research was transferred to our industrial partner, European Thermodynamics Ltd, who are currently undertaking up-scaling trials that are necessary for commercialisation. Work on an accompanying p-type material is in progress. We spent significant effort in working up protocols for the detailed structural characterisation of these materials so that their properties can be accurately modeled. The research combined multiple microscopy, diffraction and scattering techniques and will set the standard in the field. In case of the TiNiCuySn materials, this revealed that their properties are dictated by randomly distributed Cu atoms and not by nanoinclusions, which is a deviation from the accepted paradigm. In the course of the project we developed new methodologies for correlative, multi-lengthscale analysis of materials and for improved preparation of samples for atom probe tomography - aspects of both are now being taken up by the community. |
| Exploitation Route | We have provided new scientific insights in half-Heusler thermoelectric materials that have been transferred to our industrial partner. These insights will be of use to other researchers working in the thermoelectric (and Heusler alloy) field and will aid further improvements in efficiency. More broadly, materials scientists with research interests involving either polycrystalline materials or atom probe tomography will benefit from the improved methodologies developed during the project. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Electronics,Energy,Environment,Transport |
| Description | European Thermodynamics Ltd. - our partner SME - used the project to assist the materials discovery aspects of their own research and development programme. They have taken upscaling and prototyping of the HH compositions further through BEIS Energy Entrepreneur Funding in a project that also involves Johnson Matthey. The technological readiness level of the resulting thermoelectric generators has subsequently increased and it is likely that a viable commercial product will derive from the underpinning science developed in this project. In addition, a number of outreach activities have been undertaken, notably our participation at major events held at the Glasgow Science Centre, where we have contributed an interactive presentation that has engaged members of the public across the entire age range. Both Heriot-Watt and Glasgow investigators have given Pint of Science Talks on thermoelectric waste heat recovery to the general public. The project also made advance in experimental methodology that have impact beyond the project's immediate research area. Most notably, we developed protocols to improve the yield and site-selectivity of samples for atom probe tomography that have been published and are now being taken up widely. We also recently published protocols to calibrate the spectrometers used for electron energy loss spectroscopy. The calibration is important because it facilitates accurate assessment of the chemical identity of materials (including their bonding environment and oxidation state) and is, again, now being adopted by the wider electron microscopy community to translate into impact across multiple sectors. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Electronics,Energy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Title | Correction of EELS dispersion non-uniformities for improved chemical shift analysis |
| Description | |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | http://researchdata.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/1032 |
| Title | Epitaxial vanadium nanolayers to suppress interfacial reactions during deposition of titanium-bearing Heusler alloys on MgO(001) |
| Description | Description of the dataset (a brief outline of the nature and purpose of the dataset). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | http://researchdata.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/958 |
| Title | Grain-by-Grain Compositional Variations and Interstitial Metals - A New Route toward Achieving High Performance in Half-Heusler Thermoelectrics |
| Description | Dataset to support the associated paper. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Title | Low thermal conductivity and promising thermoelectric performance in AxCoSb (A = V, Nb or Ta) half-Heuslers with inherent vacancies |
| Description | |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Title | Spontaneous formation of nanostructures during pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial half-Heusler TiNiSn on MgO(001) |
| Description | Raw electron microscopy data relating to the images and discussion presented in the associated manuscript. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Title | Supplementary Data, APL Materials paper on TiNiSn deposition |
| Description | Data in support of the publication APL Materials 7 (2019) 013206, "Spontaneous formation of nanostructures during pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial half-Heusler TiNiSn on MgO(001)," by RWH Webster, JE Halpin, SR Popuri, J-WG. Bos, and DA MacLaren. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Data provided as supporting evidence for publication. It is anticipated to inform research in the area of thin film deposition of heusler alloys. |
| URL | http://researchdata.gla.ac.uk/711 |
| Title | Suppression of thermal conductivity without impeding electron mobility in n-type XNiSn half-Heusler thermoelectrics |
| Description | Electron microscopy images and electron spectroscopy spectrum image datasets. The raw SEM spectrum image used for figure 3 is available on request as its too big to download from this page (>6GB). Please use the 'Request Data' button above to be sent a copy of the data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | http://researchdata.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/912 |
| Description | Oxford Atom Probe Group |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Atom Probe Research Group |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Time offered on Glasgow PFIB instrument as part of new access arrangements established as part of the funding. |
| Collaborator Contribution | In-kind 'beam-time' on the Oxford 3DAP instrument. |
| Impact | Joint conference presentations. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Explorathon 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An interactive exhibit on thermoelectric materials at the annual 'Explorathon' held in the Glasgow Science Centre. Over 2000 people attended the event, several hundred of who engaged with the exhibit. The primary aim was outreach and education and feedback from the public was very positive - a majority indicated that they were not aware of the materials described and left better informed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2016 |
| URL | http://www.explorathon.co.uk/glasgow |
| Description | IMC 2018, Sydney |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | International Microscopy Congress, Sydney. Digital poster and talk presentation to international audience. Presentation initiated discussion and ideas for future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://imc19.com/ |
| Description | Leeds Uni. seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Leeds Uni. Condensed Matter Physics group seminar. Talk led to lively discussions of future research activities and collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Leipzig BuildMoNa Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Winter school on nanotechnology focused on postgraduate training. Followed by lively discussion session and impacts on attendees' future research activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.buildmona.de/events/docs/Agenda_Conference_2018.pdf |
| Description | MMC2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk at MMC Conference in Manchester, Jul 2019. The talk initiated a number of discussions with academic colleagues and has since led to new collaborative research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | MMC2019 Precongress wkshp |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Highly-regarded workshop organised to provide training in 'deep learning' algorithms, targetted at academic and industrial researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | MMC2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at the biennial Microscopy and Microanalysis Congress (MMC), held online in July 2021. The congress typically attracts over 1000 delegates and the session in which I delivered my talk reached > 200 delegates. The talk, entitled "Improved thermoelectric design through multi-lengthscale structural analysis" was in the general area of energy materials and disseminated results of funded research, including the development of new nanoanalytical methodologies that have now been adopted by researchers elsewhere. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.mmc-series.org.uk/mmc2021/ |
| Description | Newcastle Energy Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at the NECEM Conference held in Newcastle, 29 Jul 2019 - 1 Aug 2019. A valuable aspect of this meeting was engagement with both students and industry across a variety of different research themes, leading to a number of productive discussions, exchanges of ideas and sharing of 'best practice.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.iom3.org/event/b/necem-international-conference-energy-materials-and-interfaces |
| Description | Newcastle NSW seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Research talk at University of Newcastle, New South Wales. Primarily academic in nature and led to discussions for future research activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Thermoelectric Network UK Meeting 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | invited research talk entitled "Multi-length Scale Characterisation of Half-Heusler Thermoelectrics" to UK forum on thermoelectrics. The audience was primarily academic researchers but also included industrialists with interests in the research field. The aim of the forum was disseminate recent research advances, including materials discovery. After the talk, other delegates requested further information on the materials described and on the techniques used to prepare them, most notably the use of our PFIB instrument. Some delegates expressed an interest in making use of our equipment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.thermoelectricnetwork.com/ |