Magnesium Silicide: a novel, Silicon-based material for printable thermoelectric devices

The aim of the thesis is the synthesis of eco-friendly, silicon-based thermoelectric (TE) materials for printable devices. In particular way, the individuated, fabricated, and printed material is magnesium silicide (Mg2Si). It is based on magnesium and silicon, two abundant and low-cost elements. Magnesium silicide has been recognized by several authors such as a novel TE material with a combination of interesting characteristics and performances. Magnesium silicide has been fabricated starting by powder constituents, combining mechanical action by ball milling, followed by a thermal treatment. The obtained Mg2Si powder has been 3d printed by a paste-extrusion method. Analytical techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), spectroscopy (Raman and infrared), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermo-analytical techniques have been used to characterize the fabricated powder and the printed devices.