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Partial filling of skutterudites: Optimization for thermoelectric applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2005

G.S. Nolas  and
G. Fowler
G.S. Nolas*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620
G. Fowler
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author.e-mail: gnolas@cas.usf.edu
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Abstract

Over the last ten years there has been substantial experimental and theoretical effort in understanding the transport properties of filled skutterudite compounds to optimize their thermoelectric properties. One such approach involves partially filling the voids in attempting to optimize the electrical properties while minimizing the thermal conductivity. We illustrate the importance of this approach by plotting and comparing the figure of merit of CoSb3 over a large range of carrier concentrations and thermal conductivity values. The thermal conductivity of partially filled skutterudites AxCo4Sb12, where A = La, Eu, and Yb, is analyzed using the Debye model to correlate the data with the type of filler atom in evaluating the role of the filler in affecting the thermal conductivity. Partial void filling has resulted in relatively high thermoelectric figures of merit at moderately high temperatures.

Keywords

SemiconductorThermal conductivityThermoelectricity
Type
Articles—Energy and The Environment Special Section
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 20 , Issue 12 , December 2005 , pp. 3234 - 3237
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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