Work

The Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties of Ba 0.4 Co 4 Sb 11.7 Te 0.3 Prepared by the High-Pressure and High-Temperature Method

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: Polycrystalline skutterudite Ba 0.4 Co 4 Sb 11.7 Te 0.3 with a bcc crystal structure was prepared by the High-Pressure and High-Temperature (HPHT) method. The study explored a chemical method for introducing Ba atoms into the voids of CoSb 3 to optimize the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT in the system of Ba 0.4 Co 4 Sb 11.7 Te 0.3 . The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe analysis, and thermoelectric properties measurement. The electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficients and thermal conductivities of the samples were measured in the temperature range of 300–743 K. The power factor and the figure of merit, ZT , of the samples all increased with the increasing temperature. A dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit of 0.87 at 743 K was achieved for n-type Ba 0.4 Co 4 Sb 11.7 Te 0.3 at last. The results indicated Ba-filled CoSb 3 prepared by HPHT method is an effective method to greatly enhance the thermoelectric properties of skutterudite compounds.

Source: High Temperature Materials and Processes

DOI: 10.1515/htmp-2013-0021