Thermoelectric Properties of Cobalt Triantimonide (CoSb3) Prepared by an Electrochemical Technique

Abstract

A novel electrochemical method has been used to transform an n-type skutterudite of composition Co0.95Pd0.05Te0.05Sb2.95 from a starting material having a crystalline structure with a grain size of about 1 micron into a material with an amorphous structure and a nanoscale grain size (70 nm). Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that crystallization of the amorphous Co0.95Pd0.05Te0.05Sb2.95 powders occurs between 220-260 deg C. The electrical resistivity (4-point), Seebeck coefficient, and ZT of the nanoscale-amorphous material were greatly reduced compared to the micron-crystalline starting material. Our findings suggest that the major cause for this is the change in structure from crystalline to amorphous.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA517673

Entities

People

  • David Tran
  • J. Sakamoto
  • J. Wolfenstine
  • Kun Zhou

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amorphous Materials
  • Carbonate Esters
  • Chemistry
  • Coefficients
  • Crystallization
  • Diffraction
  • Electrical Conductivity
  • Electrical Properties
  • Electron Diffraction
  • Grain Size
  • Hot Pressing
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Particle Size
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • X-Ray Diffraction

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.