Thermoelectric materials are competitive candidates for special cooling applications. Mg₃Sb₂-based materials consisting of inexpensive ingredients have profound thermoelectric properties. At present, alloying with Mg₃Bi₂ is the most effective approach to optimize the thermoelectric properties of Mg₃Sb₂-based materials. However, the extremely low abundance of bismuth in the crust contradicts its economic expectation. In this work, the ZrO₂ micro-particles were separated into the Mg_3.2Sb_1.99Te_0.01. The doping effect of Zr atoms at Mg sites increased the electrical conductivity, and the combined secondary phase lowered the lattice thermal conductivity. With acceptable degradation in the Seebeck coefficient, the sample combined with 5 % (in mass) ZrO₂ exhibited a dimensionless figure of merit (zT) of 0.49 and a power factor of 2.7 mW·m⁻¹·K⁻² near room temperature. The average zT in the range from 300 K to 500 K reached 0.8, on par with the Mg₃Sb₂Mg₃Bi₂ alloys. Besides, the compressive and bending strengths reach 669 MPa and 269 MPa, respectively, far superior to the common room-temperature thermoelectrics. This secondary phase showed a surprising and uncostly promotion of the Mg₃Sb₂-based thermoelectric materials, impelling the realization of its commercial application.

热电材料是特殊冷却应用的有竞争力的候选材料。由廉价成分组成的Mg ₃ Sb ₂ 基材料具有深厚的热电性能。目前，Mg ₃ Bi ₂ 合金化是优化Mg ₃ Sb ₂ 基热电性能的最有效途径。材料。然而，地壳中极低的铋丰度与其经济预期相矛盾。在这项工作中，ZrO ₂ 微粒被分离成 Mg _3.2 Sb _1.99 Te _0.01 。 Mg位点Zr原子的掺杂作用提高了电导率，而结合的第二相降低了晶格热导率。在塞贝克系数下降可接受的情况下，与 5%（质量）ZrO ₂ 组合的样品表现出 0.49 的无量纲品质因数 (zT) 和 2.7 mW·m ⁻¹ 接近室温。 300 K到500 K范围内的平均zT达到0.8，与Mg ₃ Sb ₂ Mg ₃ 相当Bi ₂ 合金。此外，抗压强度和弯曲强度分别达到669 MPa和269 MPa，远远优于常见的室温热电材料。这种第二相对Mg ₃ Sb ₂ 基热电材料表现出令人惊讶且成本低廉的促进作用，推动了其商业应用的实现。