Reevaluation of the electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of narrow-gap semiconducting α-SrSi2: A complementary experimental and first-principles hybrid-functional approach

Thermoelectric power generation in the low temperature region has attracted considerable attention as a means of the effective use of distributed energy and for sensor applications. However, it is difficult to theoretically predict the exact thermoelectric transport properties owing to the relatively narrow bandgap of low temperature thermoelectric materials. In this study, a high-purity alpha -SrSi2 crystal was synthesized by the vertical Bridgman (VB) method. The carrier density of the VB-grown alpha -SrSi2 was investigated, and, from the temperature dependence of the carrier density, it was estimated that the bandgap was 13.1meV. First-principles calculations using the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof screened hybrid functional for alpha -SrSi2 predicted the bandgap to be very close to this value (13.27meV) when assuming the mixing parameter of the Hartree-Fock contribution to the exact exchange is 18.7%. Using the calculated electronic structure and the measured carrier concentration, the predicted temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient was in good agreement with the experimental results.