Thermal conductivity suppression in ZnO with AlZn2O4 and ZnP2 for thermoelectric applications

In this study, intrinsic ZnO powder was sintered and intercalated with particles. The resultingpowder, along with a commercial p-type product, was consolidated into bulk materials, and theirthermal conductivity was measured across a temperature range of 350 K-700 K. The thermalconductivity of the commercial p-type ZnO was found to be lower than that of intrinsic ZnO,attributed to controlled doping. Notably, our demonstration illustrated that the thermalconductivity can be reduced by a factor of 5-10 in the presence of AlZn2O4and ZnP2precipitates. This methodology presents a feasible approach for the future design of ZnO-basedthermoelectric materials, particularly for thermal heat scavenging applications.