Effects of doping on the high-temperature thermoelectric properties of IrSb3 skutterudite compounds

Abstract

The IrSb 3 -based skutterudite compounds have a potential for thermoelectric applications because of high Hall mobility, Seebeck coefficient, and relatively low thermal conductivity. In the present study, polycrystalline p-and n-type IrSb 3 compounds are prepared by powder metallurgy techniques. The effect of doping on thermoelectric properties has been investigated in binary and ternary IrSb 3 compounds using Ru, Ge, Pd, or Pt as a dopant. It is shown that the electrical properties depend strongly not only on the kinds of doping impurities but also their levels. Our theoretical analysis suggests that the effective mass is significantly affected by doping impurities and the levels.