Preparation and thermoelectric properties of Ga-substituted p-type fully filled skutterudites CeFe{sub 4-x}Ga{sub x}Sb{sub 12}

Journal Article · Sat Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2012 · Journal of Solid State Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JSSC.2012.06.019· OSTI ID:22149932

Tan, Gangjian; Wang, Shanyu ^[1]; Tang, Xinfeng ^[1]; Li, Han ^[1]; Uher, Ctirad ^[2]

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1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China)
2. Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

We demonstrate a successful substitution of Ga at the Fe sites with a solubility limit of -0.11 in the p-type filled skutterudite compounds CeFe{sub 4-x}Ga{sub x}Sb{sub 12}. With increasing Ga content, the electrical conductivity declines while the Seebeck coefficient improves gradually, consistent with the expected decrease in hole concentration due to the extra electrons introduced by Ga. Moreover, the resemblances in electrical transport properties between Ga- and Co-substituted systems with similar composition indicate that Ga doping exerts little influence on the electronic structure near the top of the valence band. The phonon transport is scarcely affected by the introduction of Ga because of negligible differences in atomic masses and sizes of Ga and Fe. The thermoelectric performance of Ga-substituted samples is slightly improved in the temperature range of 600 K to 800 K with respect to that of Ga-free sample, revealing a favorable effect of Ga-substitution on the intermediate temperature power generation application of this promising p-type material. - Graphical abstract: (a-c) Ga successfully substitutes Fe atoms up to x=0.11 in the CeFe{sub 4-x}Ga{sub x}Sb{sub 12}. (d) The introduction of Ga barely affects the electronic structure near E{sub F}. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ga as an effective substitute for Fe in p-type skutterudites CeFe{sub 4-x}Ga{sub x}Sb{sub 12}. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The solubility limit of Ga at Fe sites is -0.11 in CeFe{sub 4-x}Ga{sub x}Sb{sub 12}. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ga barely affects the electronic structure near the Fermi level.

• OSTI ID: 22149932
• Journal Information: Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Vol. 196; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0022-4596
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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