Design and fabrication of full-Heusler compound with positive Seebeck coefficient as a potential thermoelectric material.

To explore full-Heusler compounds with positive Seebeck coefficient, we calculated thermoelectric (TE) properties of several Co- and Mn-based full-Heusler compounds. Relatively high Seebeck coefficients were obtained in the calculation, indicating a potential of full-Heusler compounds as TE materials. As a candidate, we prepared a Mn 2 VAl sample and measured its TE properties. As predicted in the calculation, the Mn 2 VAl sample exhibited a positive Seebeck coefficient from 315 K to 1020 K. The maximum power factor was 2.7 × 10 −4 Wm −1 K −2 at 717 K. This study embodies great significance for future study on design and fabrication of full-Heusler compounds with high TE properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]