[Translate to English:] © R. Bueno Villoro, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH

New formats need time and leisure. To better promote scientific exchange and networking in our community, we have advertised a contact form in the February 2023 newsletter. You can use it to send us news from your research. After reviewing the content, the science news will be published on the DGM website and on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

We are pleased that Yasmin Ahmed Salem from the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research GmbH (MPIE) was the first to respond to this call. Ms. Salem's submission reached us on 09 March 2023 Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research have optimized the microstructure of thermoelectric materials by doping the grain boundaries with titanium. This allows them to achieve optimal low thermal and high electrical conductivity, making energy conversion more efficient. Thermoelectric materials are considered promising for electricity generation from waste heat. These results could help develop more sustainable energy production routes and convert waste energy into usable energy.

The research team manipulated the chemistry and atomic arrangement of the grain boundaries of a Ti-doped NbFeSb half-Heusler intermetallic compound to manipulate the electronic and thermal transport properties. The increased number of grain boundaries reduced electrical conductivity, which could be compensated for by doping with titanium. The researchers are now working to selectively dope the grain boundaries to further increase efficiency.

The initial paper was published in the Journal Advanced Energy Materials.

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