Potential of Chevrel Phases for Thermoelectric Applications
A low lattice thermal conductivity is one of the requirements to achieve high thermoelectric figures of merit.
Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Caillat, T..
A low lattice thermal conductivity is one of the requirements to achieve high thermoelectric figures of merit.
The integration of new more efficient thermoelectric materials developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory into a new high-performance segmented thermoelectric generator has been reported earlier.
Thermoelectric properties of CoP(sub 3) and CeFe(sub 4)P(sub 12) have been measured for the first time.
Advanced thermoelectric microdevices integrated into thermal management packages and low power, electrical source systems are of interest for a variety of space and terrestrial applications.
Several compounds with the Cr(sub 3)S(sub 4) structure type have been studied for their thermoelectric properties.
A systematic search for advanced thermoelectric materials was initiated at JPL several years ago to evaluate candidate materials which includes consideration of the following property attributes: (1) semiconducting properties; (2) large Seebeck coefficient; (3) high carrier mobility and high electrical conductivity; (4) low lattice thermal conductivity; and (5) chemical stability and low vapor pressure. Through this candidate screening process, JPL identified several families of materials as promising candidates for improved thermoelectric materials including the skutterudite family. As part of an ongoing effort to develop skutterudite materials with lower thermal conductivity values, several solid solutions and filled skutterudite materials were investigated under the effort sponsored by DOE. The efforts have primarily focused on: (1) study of existence and properties of solid solutions between the binary compounds CoSb3 and IrSb3, and RuSb2Te, and (2) CeFe(4-x)Sb12 based filled compositions. For the solid solutions, the lattice thermal conductivity reduction was expected to be reduced by the introduction of the Te and Ru atoms while in the case of CeFe(4-x)Ru(x)Sb12 based filled compositions. For the solid solutions, the lattice thermal conductivity reduction was expected to be reduced by the introduction of the Te and Ru atoms while in the case of CeFe(4-x)Ru(x)Sb12 filled compositions, the reduction would be caused by the rattling of Ce atoms located in the empty voids of the skutterudite structure and the substitution of Fe for Ru. The details of the sample preparation and characterization of their thermoelectric properties are reported in this report.
Since the discovery of state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials in the 1960s, little improvement has been made in the thermoelectric material efficiency. Although numerous materials have been investigated for their thermoelectric properties, ZT value of 1 has not been significantly exceeded. This paper presents a new family of materials with the skutterudite crystal structure which, based on initial results obtained on several compounds of this family, has a good potential for thermoelectric applications. This class of materials covers a wide range of decomposition temperatures and bandgaps, which could be used for low, intermediate to high temperature applications.
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One of the new approaches for developing thermoelectric materials with superior figures of merit is to look at materials which can be referred to as 'rattling' semiconductors.
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A low lattice themal conductivity is one of the conditions required to achieve high thermoelectric figures of merit. Several low themal conductivity materials were identified and developed over the past few years at JPL, including filled skutterudites and Zn (sub 4) Sb (sub 3) - based materials.
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Materials with the skutterudite crystal structure possess attractive transport properties and have a good potential for achieving ZT values substantially larger than for state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials.
A low lattice thermal conductivity is one of the requirements to achieve high thermoelectric figures of merit.
B-Zn(sub 4-x)Cd(sub x)Sb(sub 3) was recently identified at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a new high performance p-type thermoelectric material with a maximum dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of 1.4 at a temperature of 673K.
We have prepared and measured the electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity of the Chevrel material Mo(2)Re(4)Se(8) in the 300-1000K temperature range.
Despite their relatively low efficiency, thermoelectric generators are used in a limited number of industrial applications where they are preferred to other energy conversion devices because of their high reliability, low maintenance and long life, in particular when considering harsh environments.
A study of the thermoelectric properties of the skutterudite compound CoSb3 was carried out on single crystals grown by the Bridgman gradient freeze technique. p- and n-type samples were obtained over a wide range of carrier concentration. Undoped As-grown crystals show p-type conductivity while n-type samples were obtained by addition of Te or Pd. Samples were characterized by x-ray diffractometry, electron microprobe analysis, and density measurements. The physical properties of CoSb3 such as linear thermal expansion coefficient, sound velocity, and Debye temperature were also determined and are presented. Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and Hall effect measurements were performed between room temperature and about 900 K. Exceptionally high Hall mobilities were obtained on p-type samples with a maximum room-temperature Hall mobility of 3300 sq cm/V.s at a carrier concentration of 1 x 10(exp 17)/cc. The results of the transport property measurements are discussed and are in agreement with some recent predictions based on band structure calculations. The potential of CoSb3 for thermoelectric applications is evaluated.