The effect of Cu₂O nanoparticle dispersion on the thermoelectric properties of n-type skutterudites

Effect of Refractory Tantalum Metal Filling on the Microstructure and Thermoelectric Properties of Co4Sb12 Skutterudites

“…Figure 7a shows the total thermal conductivity (κ total ) as a function of temperature for Ta 0.2 Co 4 Sb 12 , Ta 0.4 Co 4 Sb 12 , Ta 0.6 Co 4 Sb 12 , and Ta 0.8 Co 4 Sb 12 samples between 300 and 723 K. All the samples show a decreasing trend of κ total with an increase in T. The value of κ total is less than that of pure unfilled Co 4 Sb 12 processed using the powder metallurgy route. 7 7b) used for κ total calculations in our study (0.22− 0.25 J•g −1 •K −1 ) is higher than that of other previously reported filled Co 4 Sb 12 (∼0.23 J•g −1 •K −1 ). 32 Wiedemann−Franz law (WFL), κ e = LT/ρ, is used to separate the electronic and lattice thermal conductivity values, where L is the Lorentz number.…”

“…The nanocrystalline nature of skutterudites processed by the powder metallurgy route is also reported earlier. 7,8,19 The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of the freshly prepared fractured surfaces of the samples at low and higher magnifications are respectively illustrated in the left and right sides of Figure 3 and Figure S3. From Figure 3 and Figure S3, it is observed that nanometer-sized equiaxed grains (∼85 nm) are present in all the samples.…”

“…, where ρ 0 is the preexponential constant in the fitted region, E g is the bandgap/ energy gap, and k B is the Boltzmann constant. 7 The bandgap of the samples decreases with an increase in Ta concentration as 5). The highest value of n-type S at 300 K is observed in the case of Ta 0.2 Co 4 Sb 12 (∼−391 μV/K) and the S value decreases with an increase in Ta concentration.…”

“…Thermoelectric (TE) devices are useful for solid-state energy conversion technology and offer a direct conversion of heat to electricity. These devices have great potential to generate useful energy by recycling waste heat. , Many alloy systems like half-Heuslers, − skutterudites, − silicides, , tellurides, − selenides, clathrates, and Zintl phases are being widely explored as potential materials for TE devices. The dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = S 2 T /ρκ total , is a unique parameter that measures the performance of a TE material, where S , ρ, and κ total are the Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity, respectively, at absolute temperature T .…”

A review of CoSb3-based skutterudite thermoelectric materials

“…The electron is not easy to be scattered because of the size of the nanoscale second-phase is much larger than the mean free path of the electron, which has little effect on the electrical properties. The preparation of CoSb 3 -based nanocomposites by in-situ generation [78,[167][168][169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177] or mechanical addition of nanoinclusions [178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185][186][187][188][189][190][191][192][193] is a common method to introduce the second phase. In x Ce y Co 4 Sb 12 nanocomposites containing in-situ formed InSb nanophases (10-80 nm) were prepared by melt quenching, annealing, and spark plasma sintering [78], as shown in Figs.…”