# MgCusb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material

https://mdr.nims.go.jp/datasets/2caef211-46fa-4a52-81a3-c8060078a86c

## File

- [MgCusb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb thermoelectric material.pdf](https://mdr.nims.go.jp/filesets/19c1ba01-3d76-4f92-b06c-d63626150211/download) ([Detail](https://mdr.nims.go.jp/filesets/19c1ba01-3d76-4f92-b06c-d63626150211.md))

## Id

2caef211-46fa-4a52-81a3-c8060078a86c

## Local identifier



## Visibility

open_to_public

## State

published

## Created at

2025-06-03T07:42:33.083265Z

## Updated at

2025-07-16T07:14:53.715426Z

## Published at

2025-06-04T23:17:29.457976Z

## Doi

https://doi.org/10.48505/nims.5518

## First published url

https://doi.org/10.1080/14686996.2025.2506982

## Date published

2025-12-31

## Recorded date published

2025-12-31

## Resource type

journal_article

## Manuscript type

accepted_manuscript

## Collection



## Title

- title: MgCusb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb
    thermoelectric material
  title_type: original
  lang: en

## Description

- description: The p-type thermoelectric (TE) material α-MgAgSb is a promising tellurium-free
    bismuth telluride substitute for cooling and waste heat harvesting applications
    between room temperature and 573 K. Optimization of the material resulted in high
    values of figure of merit (zTmax = 1.3) to date, but performance optimization
    of TE devices also requires minimizing the electrical contact resistance between
    the TE material and the electrodes. Here, we investigate the metallization of
    MgAgSb with MgCuSb, providing microstructural and electrical analyses of the interfaces
    for functionalized legs obtained from a combined sintering of both materials systematically
    varying temperature, duration and pressure. Analysis of the obtained results reveals
    the formation of an interdiffusion layer of Ag3Sb with varying thickness in all
    samples, but the contact resistance remains consistently below 10 μΩ cm2. Microprobe
    measurements of the Seebeck coefficient indicate a change in carrier concentration
    in the TE material close to the interface, visualizing interdiffusion processes
    between MgAgSb and MgCuSb. We furthermore demonstrate that MgCuSb can successfully
    be applied as an electrode on pre-compacted MgAgSb samples, resulting in the first
    ever reported successful two-step contacting of MgAgSb. The obtained sample exhibits
    a strong mechanical contact without any crack at the interface, as well as a very
    low electrical contact resistance below 7 µΩ cm2, representing less than 5% of
    the total leg resistance. Successful contacting of pre-compacted material is a
    step forward towards module fabrication as it enables better control of the TE
    leg length and thus device performance.
  description_type: abstract
  lang: en

## Creator

- name: Amandine Helt
  role: author
  organization: a Institute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
  department: Cologne, Germany;b European Astronaut Centre, European Space Agency
    (ESA), Cologne,
- name: Amandine Duparchy
  role: author
- name: Aidan Cowley
  role: author
- name: Eckhard Müller
  role: author
- name: Johannes de Boor
  role: author

## Contact agent



## Publisher

organization: Taylor & Francis

## Managing organization



## Keyword

- subject: MgAgSb
  schema: not_defined
- subject: thermoelectricity
  schema: not_defined
- subject: devices
  schema: not_defined
- subject: contacting
  schema: not_defined
- subject: MgCuSb
  schema: not_defined
- subject: electrode
  schema: not_defined
- subject: interface
  schema: not_defined
- subject: contact resistances
  schema: not_defined
- subject: microstructure
  schema: not_defined

## Rights

- identifier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## Other identifier(s)



## Data origin

- data_origin_type: other

## Embargo



## Journal

- title: Science and Technology of Advanced Materials
  issn: '14686996'
  volume: '26'
  article_number: '2506982'

## Conference



## Related item



## Funding



## Instrument



## Instrument operator



## Instrument managing organization



## Measurement method



## Specimen



## Chemical composition



## Structure for specimen



## Structural feature for specimen



## Specific property for specimen



## Process for specimen treatment



## Computational method



## Energy level/transition state



## Software



## Custom property



## Fileset

- id: 19c1ba01-3d76-4f92-b06c-d63626150211
  filename: MgCusb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of
    MgAgSb thermoelectric material.pdf
  content_type: application/pdf
  size: 4232058
  md5: 1fb587d57f978c4a2f8129725a0ec492

## Thumbnail

fileset_id: 19c1ba01-3d76-4f92-b06c-d63626150211
filename: MgCusb as a suitable electrode for contacting pre-compacted pellets of MgAgSb
  thermoelectric material.pdf