After graduating from the Technion in 2007 (Ph.D.), Yaron joined the department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University (Evanston IL, USA – http://arc.nucapt.northwestern.edu/Yaron_Amouyal ) as aMarie Curie post-doctoral research associate in the framework of the International Outgoing Fellowship (IOF) program of the European Union.
In 2010 Yaron came back to the Faculty of Materials Engineering, Technion, for his re-integration phase as a Senior Researcher at the Technion Research and Development Foundation (TRDF). Yaron is a member of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), the American Physical Society (APS), and the Israel Physical Society (IPS).
Adjusting the properties of thermoelectric materials for energy applications by nanostructuring
One of the fundamental and intriguing questions in materials science is how to control functional properties of materials by manipulating their microstructure. An outstanding example for a functional property that is highly sensitive to the finest features of microstructure is thermoelectricity. In the thermoelectric (TE) effect thermal energy is converted into electrical energy and vice-versa. TE devices can, therefore, serve for heat-exchange or refrigerating as well as for capturing waste heat and converting it into electricity; the latter has major implications for energy harvesting.
The performance of TE materials can be improved by increasing their electrical conductivity and/or reducing their thermal conductivity. These two requirements are usually contradictory, which makes the development of TE materials a grand challenge from the materials science point of view. One of the promising approaches for reducing thermal conductivity with no deterioration of the electrical conductivity is formation of coherent nanometer- size precipitates dispersed in a TE matrix, thereby scattering of heat conducting phonons.
We process two-phase TE alloys comprising matrix and precipitates, and apply different heat treatments to obtain diverse microstructures. Supplemented by ab-initio calculations, we aim to "smartly-design" new materials processing in a time and cost-effective manner. Employing advanced characterization techniques, we analyze the materials structure and chemistry down to the nanometer length-scale. Finally, we measure the TE properties of these materials and correlate them with their microstructures. This helps us modeling the thermal conductivity in heterogeneous materials, and provides us with insight of the underlying physics. Besides possible improvements of TE properties, we endeavor to advance our understanding of how functional properties of materials depend on their microstructure.
Teaching
“Advanced Topics in Materials Science – Transport Properties and Thermoelectric Materials (318124)” for graduate students.
“Advanced Students Laboratories (315002)” for undergraduate students (academic responsibility).
“Advanced Materials Selection (315012)” for undergraduate students.
“Thermodynamics of Materials (315003)” for undergraduate students.
2019
Andrei Baranovskiy, Mor Harush, and Yaron Amouyal: On the influence of rare earth dopants on thermal transport in thermoelectric Bi2Te3 compounds: an ab-initio perspective. Advanced Theory and Simulations, 1 (12), 1800162 (2019).
Amram Azulay and Yaron Amouyal: Tailoring electronic and thermal transport properties of CaO(CaMnO3)m-based (m=1 and m=∞) composites for thermoelectric power generation, Acta Materialia164 481-492 (2019).
2018
Ariel Sheskin, Torsten Schwarz, Yuan Yu, Siyuan Zhang, Lamya Abdellaoui, Baptiste Gault, Oana Cojocaru-Mirédin, Christina Scheu, Dierk Raabe, Matthias Wuttig, and Yaron Amouyal: Tailoring thermoelectric transport properties of Ag-alloyed PbTe: effects of microstructure evolution. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10 (45) 38994-39001 (2018).
Y. Amouyal, Y. Gelbstein, D. Fuks, Progress Report: Physical Metallurgy Inspired Nano-Features for Enhancement of Thermoelectric Conversion Efficiency,Advanced Theory and SimulationsJuly 2018, 1800072. https://doi.org/10.1002/adts.201800072
Andrei Baranovskiy, Ido Koresh, and Yaron Amouyal: Tuning Transport Properties of Nickel-Doped Zinc Oxide for Thermoelectric Applications. MRS Communications, May 2018, pp. 1-7.
Y. Yu, S. Zhang, A. M. Mio, B. Gault, A. Sheskin, C. Scheu, D. Raabe, F.-Q. Zu, M. Wuttig, Y. Amouyal and O. Cojocaru-Miredin: Ag-segregation to dislocations in PbTe-based thermoelectric materials. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10 (4), 3609 (2018).
A. Baranovskiy, A. Graff, J. Klose, J. Mayer, and Y. Amouyal: On the origin of vibrational properties of calcium manganate based thermoelectric compounds. Nano Energy47 451-462 (2018).
2017
T. Grossfeld, A. Sheskin, Y. Gelbstein, and Y. Amouyal: Microstructure Evolution of Ag-Alloyed PbTe-Based Compounds and Implications for Thermoelectric Performance, Crystals7 (9), 281 (2017) http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/7/9/281
I. Koresh and Y. Amouyal: Effects of precipitation on the thermal conductivity of nickel-doped zinc oxide for thermoelectric applications. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc.37 (11), 3541-3550 (2017)
Oana Cojocaru-Miredin, Lamya Abdellaoui, Michael Nagli, Siyuan Zang, Yuan Yu, Christina Scheu, Dierk Raabe, Matthias Wuttig and Yaron Amouyal: Role of nanostructuring in silver antimony telluride compounds for thermoelectric applications. ACS Appl. Mater. Int.9 (17), 14779-14790 (2017).
L. Popilevsky, V.M. Skripnyuk, Y. Amouyal, E. Rabkin, Tuning the thermal conductivity of hydrogenated porous magnesium hydride composites with the aid of carbonaceous additives. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy , 42, 22395-22405 (2017).
Y. Amouyal: A Practical Approach to Evaluate Lattice Thermal Conductivity in Two-Phase Thermoelectric Alloys for Energy Applications.Materials10 (4), 386 (2017).
A. Baranovskiy and Y. Amouyal: Dependence of electrical transport properties of CaO(CaMnO3)m (m = 1, 2, 3, ∞) thermoelectric oxides on lattice periodicity. J Appl. Phys.121, 065103 (2017).
A. Castellero, G. Fiore, E. Evenstein, M. Baricco, Y. Amouyal: Effects of Rapid Solidification on Phase Formation and Microstructure Evolution of AgSbTe2-Based Thermoelectric Compounds. J. Nanosci. Nanotech.17 (3), 1650 (2017).
Y. Amouyal: Silver-antimony-telluride: from first-principles calculations to thermoelectric applications (Chapter 7, p. 149) In: Thermoelectric Power Generation – Advanced Materials and Devices, a book edited by Sergey Skipidarov and Mikhail Nikitin, ISBN 978-953-51-2846-5, Print ISBN 978-953-51-2845-8; Open access: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/66086
2016
Shekhter, D. Schwendt, Y. Amouyal, T. F. Wietler, H. J. Osten, and M. Eizenberg: Strain-induced phase variation and dielectric constant enhancement of epitaxial Gd2O3, J. Appl. Phys.120 (1), 014101 (2016).
Baranovskiy and Y. Amouyal: Structural stability of calcium-manganate based CaO(CaMnO3)m (m = 1, 2, 3, ∞) compounds for thermoelectric applications, Journal of Alloys and Compounds687, 562 (2016).
Popilevsky, V. M. Skripnyuk, M. Beregovsky, M. Sezen, Y. Amouyal, and E. Rabkin: Hydrogen storage and thermal transport properties of pelletized porous Mg-2 wt.% multiwall carbon nanotubes and Mg-2 wt.% graphite composites, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy41 (32), 14461 (2016).
Shekhter, C. Uzan-Saguy, J. Schubert, Y. Amouyal, and M. Eizenberg: Experimental and computational study of zero dimensional metallic behavior at the LaLuO3/SrTiO3 interface, J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B34 (2), 021204 (2016).
Amouyal and G. Schmitz: Atom probe tomography—A cornerstone in materials characterization. MRS Bulletin41 (01), 13 (2016).
Graff and Y. Amouyal: Effects of Lattice Defects and Niobium Doping on Thermoelectric Properties of Calcium Manganate Compounds for Energy Harvesting Applications. Elect. Mater.45 (3), 1508 (2016).
Amram, Y. Amouyal, and E. Rabkin: Encapsulation by segregation – a multifaceted approach to gold segregation in iron particles on sapphire. Acta Mater.102 342 (2016).
2015
Joseph and Y. Amouyal: Enhancing thermoelectric performance of PbTe-based compounds by substituting elements: a first-principles study. J. Elect. Mater.44 (6), 1460 (2015).
Joseph and Y. Amouyal: Towards a predictive route for selection of doping elements for the thermoelectric compound PbTe from first-principles. J. Appl. Phys.117 (17), 175102 (2015).
2014
Amouyal: Reducing Lattice Thermal Conductivity of the Thermoelectric Compound AgSbTe2 (P4/mmm) by Lanthanum Substitution: Computational and Experimental Approaches. J. Elect. Mater.43 (10), 3772 (2014).
Amouyal, Z. Mao, and D. N. Seidman: Combined atom- probe tomography and first-principles calculations for studying atomistic interactions between tungsten and tantalum in nickel-based alloys. Acta Mater.74, 296 (2014).
Graff and Y. Amouyal: Reduced thermal conductivity in niobium-doped calcium-manganate compounds for thermoelectric applications. Appl. Phys. Lett.105 (18), 181906 (2014).
2013
Amouyal: On the role of lanthanum substitution defects in reducing lattice thermal conductivity of the AgSbTe2 (P4/mmm) thermoelectric compound for energy conversion applications. Comp. Mater. Sci.78, 98 (2013).
Ribbe, G. Schmitz, D. Gunderov, Y. Estrin, Y. Amouyal, G. Wilde, S.V. Divinski: Effect of annealing on percolating porosity in ultrafine-grained copper produced by equal channel angular pressing. Acta Mater.61, 5477 (2013).
2012
Amouyal and D. N. Seidman: Atom-Probe Tomography of Nickel-based Superalloys with Green or Ultraviolet Lasers: A Comparative Study. Microscopy and Microanalysis18 (5), 971 (2012).
A. Rothschild, A. Cohen, A. Brusilovsky, L. Kornblum, Y. Kauffmann, Y. Amouyal, and M. Eizenberg: Fermi level tuning using the Hf-Ni alloy system as a gate electrode in metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. J. Appl. Phys. 112 (1), 013717 (2012).
Ashuach, Y. Kauffmann, D. Isheim, Y. Amouyal, D.N. Seidman, and E. Zolotoyabko: Atomic intermixing in short-period InAs/GaSb superlattices. Appl. Phys. Lett. 100 (24), 241604 (2012).
Kornblum, P. Shekhter, Y. Slovatizky, Y. Amouyal, and M. Eizenberg: Composition and crystallography dependence of the work function: Experiment and calculations of Pt-Al alloys. Phys. Rev. B86 (12), 125305 (2012).
2011
Amouyal and D. N. Seidman: The role of hafnium in the formation of misoriented defects in Ni-based superalloys: An atom-probe tomographic study. Acta Mater.59 (2011) pp 3321-3333.
Amouyal and D. N. Seidman: An atom-probe tomographic study of freckle formation in a nickel-based superalloy. Acta Mater.59 (2011) pp 6729-6742.
2010
Amouyal, Z. Mao, and D. N. Seidman: Effects of tantalum on the partitioning of tungsten between the γ- and γ’- phases in nickel-based superalloys: Linking experimental and computational approaches. Acta Mater.58 (2010) pp. 5898-5911.
2009
Amouyal, Z. Mao, C. Booth-Morrison, and D. N. Seidman: On the interplay between tungsten and tantalum atoms in Ni-based superalloys: An atom-probe tomographic and first-principles study. Appl. Phys. Lett.94 (4), 041917 (2009).
Klinger, Y. Amouyal, S.V. Divinski, and E. Rabkin: Grain Boundary Diffusion in Recrystallizing Nanocrystalline Materials. Defect and Diffusion Forum Vols. 289-292 (2009) pp. 641-648.
Amouyal, Z. Mao, and D. N. Seidman: Phase partitioning and site-preference of hafnium in the γ'(L12)/γ(fcc) system in Ni-based superalloys: An atom-probe tomographic and first-principles study. Appl. Phys. Lett.95 (16), 161909 (2009).
2008
Amouyal, S.V. Divinski, L. Klinger, E. Rabkin: Grain Boundary Diffusion and Recrystallization in Ultrafine Grain Copper produced by Equal Channel Angular Pressing. Acta Mater. 56 (2008) pp. 5500-5513.
Ribbe, G. Schmitz, Y. Amouyal, Y. Estrin, and S.V. Divinski: Grain boundary radiotracer diffusion of Ni in ultra-fine grained Cu and Cu—1wt.% Pb alloy produced by equal channel angular pressing. Materials Science Forum Vols. 584-586 (2008) pp. 380-386.
Amouyal, Z. Mao, D.N. Seidman: Segregation of tungsten at γ'(L12)/γ(f.c.c.) interfaces in a Ni-based superalloy: An atom-probe tomographic and first-principles study. Appl. Phys. Lett.93 (20), 201905 (2008).
2007 and earlier
Rabkin, Y. Amouyal, L. Klinger: Scanning probe microscopy study of grain boundary migration in NiAl. Acta Mater.52 (2004) pp. 4953-4959.
Rabkin, Y. Amouyal: Applications of scanning probe microscopy for studying of interfacial thermodynamics and kinetics. Arch. Met. Mat. 49 (2004) pp. 397-410.
Amouyal, E. Rabkin, Y. Mishin: Correlation between grain boundary energy and geometry in Ni-rich NiAl. Acta Mater. 53 (2005) pp. 3795-3805.
Amouyal, S.V. Divinski, Y. Estrin, E. Rabkin: Short-circuit Diffusion in an Ultrafine Grain Copper-Zirconium Alloy Produced by Equal Channel Angular Pressing. Acta Mater. 55 (2007) pp. 5968-5979.
Amouyal, E. Rabkin: A Scanning Force Microscopy Study of Grain Boundary Energy in Copper Subjected to Equal Channel Angular Pressing. Acta Mater. 55 (2007) pp. 6681-6689.
Thermoelectric materials;
Atom-probe tomography (APT);
Computational materials science based on the density functional theory (DFT);
Nickel-based superalloys;
Diffusion and mass transport in solids and short-circuit diffusion;
