Thermoelectric conversion material, thermoelectric conversion element using the material, and electric power generation method and cooling method using the element

摘要

The present invention provides a thermoelectric conversion material including a half-Heusler alloy represented by the formula QR(L1-pZp), where Q is at least one element selected from group 5 elements, R is at least one element selected from cobalt, rhodium and iridium, L is at least one element selected from tin and germanium, Z is at least one element selected from indium and antimony, p is a numerical value that is equal to or greater than 0 and less than 0.5. A preferable example of the half-Heusler alloy is NbCo(Sn1-pSbp). The thermoelectric conversion material according to the present invention is n-type, and therefore, it is desired that the material is combined with a p-type thermoelectric conversion material to make a thermoelectric conversion element.