Enhanced thermoelectric properties of p-type -SrSi₂ nanostructured by melt spinning

A melt spinning technique followed by spark plasma sintering technique was used to synthesize nanostructured SrSi2 alloys with high homogeneity and density (>99 %). The impact of the wheel speed on the microstructure of the ribbons was investigated and shows the presence of nanostructures. After sintering, typical grain size between similar to 140 and similar to 400 nm was obtained. We show that they permit to decrease strongly the lattice thermal conductivity. The ZT values of these melt-spun alloys are about two times higher than in our bulk material. We finally show that this short step process could be of strong interest for further development.