Su Xianli, Fu Fan, Yan Yonggao, Zheng Gang, Liang Tao, Zhang Qiang, Cheng Xin, Yang Dongwang, Chi Hang, Tang Xinfeng, Zhang Qingjie, Uher Ctirad
1] State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China [2] Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA [3].
1] State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China [2].
Nat Commun. 2014 Sep 16;5:4908. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5908.
The existing methods of synthesis of thermoelectric (TE) materials remain constrained to multi-step processes that are time and energy intensive. Here we demonstrate that essentially all compound thermoelectrics can be synthesized in a single-phase form at a minimal cost and on the timescale of seconds using a combustion process called self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. We illustrate this method on Cu2Se and summarize key reaction parameters for other materials. We propose a new empirically based criterion for sustainability of the combustion reaction, where the adiabatic temperature that represents the maximum temperature to which the reacting compact is raised as the combustion wave passes through, must be high enough to melt the lower melting point component. Our work opens a new avenue for ultra-fast, low-cost, large-scale production of TE materials, and provides new insights into combustion process, which greatly broaden the scope of materials that can be successfully synthesized by this technique.
现有的热电（TE）材料合成方法仍然局限于多步骤过程，这些过程既耗时又耗能。在此，我们证明，基本上所有的复合热电材料都可以通过一种名为自蔓延高温合成的燃烧过程，以最低的成本在数秒的时间尺度内合成单相形式。我们以Cu2Se为例说明了这种方法，并总结了其他材料的关键反应参数。我们提出了一种基于经验的燃烧反应可持续性新准则，即代表燃烧波通过时反应坯块升高到的最高温度的绝热温度必须足够高，以熔化熔点较低的组分。我们的工作为热电材料的超快速、低成本、大规模生产开辟了一条新途径，并为燃烧过程提供了新的见解，这极大地拓宽了可以通过该技术成功合成的材料范围。
