Preparations and Properties of Nano-Structured AlxO/i-AlCuFe as Quasicrystalline Thermoelectric Composites

Abstract

Abstract Nano-structured AlxO/i-AlCuFe quasicrystalline composites were synthesized using spark plasma sintering. In this study, the atomized i-AlCuFe powders (nominal with Al64Cu24Fe12) were calcined at 973 K for several hours to obtain the core-shell-like structure with AlxO and i-AlCuFe. AlxO layers grew from tens to a hundred of nanometers in thickness as the calcination duration increased. In other words, the Al content decreased within the i-AlCuFe owing to the formation of AlxO. The loss of Al dominated the electron transportation behavior, which triggered an N-type to P-type transition when the Al content was below 64 at%.