Thermoelectric power of HfTe5 and ZrTe5

The thermoelectric power and the electrical resistance of the two low-dimensional conductors, HfTe₅ and ZrTe₅ have been measured over the temperature range of 7K to 380K. The thermoelectric power for both materials is large and positive at high temperatures and then drops precipitously and crosses zero at the temperature of the anomalous resistivity peak, T_p. At lower temperatures, the thermoelectric power reaches a large negative peak and then decreases to zero in a metallic fashion. The abrupt change in thermopower, which occurs at T_p for both materials, is indicative of a phase transition where the carrier type changes from hole-like to electron-like.