Improved Thermoelectric Performance of p-type Skutterudite YbxFe4-yPtySb12 (0.8 x 1, y = 1 and 0.5)
- GM R&D and Planning, Warren, Michigan
- GM Research and Development Center
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- University of Washington
- ORNL
Thermoelectric performance of p-type skutterudites currently lags that of the corresponding n-type materials and improvement of this important class of materials have become the focus of considerable research effort world-wide. Recent calculations find promising band structural features in p-type skutterudite materials of the type AeFe3NiSb12 ( Ae = Ca, Sr, or Ba) which could potentially lead to excellent thermoelectric properties. Recent work on the Yb- filled analog of the these formulations (YbFe3NiSb12) however finds that the onset of intrinsic conduction at lower than expected temperatures deteriorates the performance above 500 K leading to poor performance in the temperature range of interest for automotive waste heat recovery applications. We therefore seek a way to increase the band gap in order to find a way to minimize the deleterious effects of intrinsic conduction. Here we present ab initio band structure calculations and the synthesis and thermoelectric properties of YbxFe4-yPtySb12 (0.8 x 1, y = 1 and 0.5). Ab initio calculations find that the band gap increases for YbFe3PtSb12 as compared to the Ni-containing analog, though no such increase in the band gap energy was found for as compared to YbFe3.5Ni0.5Sb12. The y = 1 samples shows a characteristic transition to intrinsic conduction with a decrease in the Seebeck coefficient at temperatures above 700 K. The increased carrier concentration in y = 0.5 virtually eliminates any evidence of intrinsic conduction and the Seebeck coefficients for these samples increase monotonically up to 750 K, resulting in power factors approaching 27 W/cm K2 at 750 K. These power factors combined with low thermal conductivity result in a ZT = 0.9 at 750 K for Yb0.95Fe3.5Pt0.5Sb12.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Work for Others (WFO)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1087469
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 14
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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