APL Materials (Sep 2013)

How thermoelectric properties of p-type Tl-filled skutterudites are improved

  • Donghun Kim,
  • Ken Kurosaki,
  • Yuji Ohishi,
  • Hiroaki Muta,
  • Shinsuke Yamanaka

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4821626
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 3
pp. 032115 – 032115

Abstract

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The high-temperature thermoelectric properties of p-type Tl-filled skutterudites TlxFe1Co3Sb12 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8) were examined. While samples with x ≤ 0.4 were single-phase Tl-filled skutterudite, samples with x = 0.6 and 0.8 were composed of two phases: TlxFe1Co3Sb12 (x ≈ 0.4) as the matrix phase and a Tl-Fe-Sb ternary alloy. The thermal conductivity (κ) was reduced effectively by Tl addition, but the secondary phase increased κ slightly. The maximum value of the dimensionless figure of merit ZT (=S2T/ρ/κ, where T is the absolute temperature) was 0.36 at 723 K for Tl0.2Fe1Co3Sb12.