Fast and facile synthesis of Sb-doped Mg2Si0.5Sn0.5 solid solutions with decent thermoelectric performance

Abstract Sb-doped Mg 2 Si 0.5 Sn 0.5 materials were successfully prepared by a fast thermal explosion reaction for the first time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate that this new method easily converts the immiscible composition of 0.5Mg 2 Si-0.5Mg 2 Sn into a single-phase Mg 2 Si 0.5 Sn 0.5 solid solution. With Sb content increasing, the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT peak (peak value) and ZT ave (average value) are greatly improved, which are quite comparable to or even better than the values obtained by other methods. More importantly, this facile fabrication technique possesses attractive merits, such as high time- and energy-efficiency, low cost and the potential of mass production. Hence, a significant foundation has been laid for the future synthesis of other Mg-based and functional materials.