C-axis thermoelectric transport in low stage SbCl5 graphite intercalation compounds

c-axis thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity and thermopower measurements performed on stages-2, 3 and 4 SbCl₅-graphite intercalation compounds in the temperature range 3 < T < 300 K are reported. Contrary to the electrical resistivity and thermopower data, the temperature variation of the thermal conductivity is qualitatively different from that previously observed on other intercalation compounds.     

Thermoelectric properties of a dilute graphite donor intercalation compound

Data on the in-plane thermal conductivity and thermoelectric power of a stage-5 potassium donor graphite intercalation compound are reported in the temperature range 3 < T < 300 K. In the lowest temperature range the electronic contribution dominates the thermal conductivity, while at higher temperature there is a dominant lattice contribution, which is much smaller than pristine graphite. The thermopower is negative in the whole temperature range.     

Low temperature thermal conductivity of graphite-FeCl3 intercalation compounds

The low-temperature variation of the in-plane thermal conductivity of graphite- FeCl₃ intercalation compounds is reported. Around room temperature, though holes are participating, there is an important lattice contribution, but much smaller than in pristine graphite. The electronic contribution dominates in the liquid helium range. These preliminary results suggest lattice thermal conductivity measurements as a new tool to investigate defects introduced by intercalation.     

The effect of Fe substitution on the electrical and thermal conductivity and thermopower of Ca3(FexCo1−x)4O9 synthesised by a sol–gel process

The effect of Fe substitution for Co on direct current (DC) electrical and thermal conductivity and thermopower of Ca₃(Co_1−xFe_x)₄O₉ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.08), prepared by a sol–gel process, was investigated in the temperature range from 380 down to 5K. The results indicate that the substitution of Fe for Co results in an increase in thermopower and DC electrical resistivity and substantial (14.9–20.4% at 300K) decrease in lattice thermal conductivity. Experiments also indicated that the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity ρ for heavily substituted compounds Ca₃(Co_1−xFe_x)₄O₉ (x = 0.08) obeyed the relation lnρ ∝ T^−1/3 at low temperatures, T < ~55K, in agreement with Mott’s two-dimensional (2D) variable range hopping model. The enhancement of thermopower and electrical resistivity was mainly ascribed to a decrease in hole carrier concentration caused by Fe substitution, while the decrease of thermal conductivity can be explained as phonon scattering caused by the impurity. The thermoelectric performance of Ca₃Co₄O₉ was not improved in the temperature range investigated by Fe substitution largely due to great increase in electrical resistivity after Fe substitution.     

尿素夹层二硫化钛化合物的合成及其热、电输运性质研究(英文)

我们成功的制备出了含不同成分尿素的夹层化合物(NH2CONH2)xTiS2,并研究了它们在低温(5～310K)下的热、电输运性质.夹层后晶格常数、热、电输运行为的变化也证实了尿素分子成功的夹层到TiS2的范德华尔斯层间.研究结果表明:尿素分子的夹层成功的降低了材料的热导率,特别是在浓度为12.5mmol/L尿素的苯溶液中合成的样品的热导率大约1.5Wm-1 K-1(仅为纯TiS2的50%),而且尿素分子的夹层使得材料在低温下的导电行为从金属性转变为半导体性.     

Energy filtration of charge carriers in a nanostructured material based on bismuth telluride

The dependences of the electrical conductivity and thermopower on the size of grains in a nanocrystalline material based on Bi₂Te₃-Sb₂Te₃ solid solutions of the p type have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The relaxation time in the case of hole scattering by nanograin boundaries in an isotropic polycrystal has been calculated taking into account the energy dependence of the probability of tunneling of charge carriers and the dependence of the scattering intensity on the nanograin size L _n . A decrease in the probability of boundary scattering with an increase in the energy of charge carriers leads to an increase in the thermopower. The dependences of the thermopower and electrical conductivity on the nanograin size, which have been obtained taking into account the boundary scattering and scattering by acoustic phonons, are in good agreement with experimental data. For the material under consideration, the thermopower coefficient increases by 10–20% compared to the initial solid solution at L _n = 20–30 nm. This can lead to an increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit by 20–40%, provided that the decrease in the electrical conductivity and the decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity compensate each other. Despite the absence of a complete compensation, it has been possible to increase the thermoelectric figure of merit for the samples under investigation to ZT = 1.10–1.12.     

Influence of Ir substitution on the thermoelectric properties of Ba0.3(IrxCo1-x)4Sb12 solid solutions

Polycrystalline skutterudite solid solutions, Ba_0.3 (Ir_xCo_1-x)₄Sb₁₂ (x from 0 to 0.11), have been synthesized by a two-step solid state reaction method and sintered by a spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The influence of Ir substitution on electrical and thermal transport properties has been investigated in the temperature range of 300–850 K. Through Ir substitution, the lattice thermal conductivity was depressed due to the phonon scattering by point defects. The thermopower and thermoelectric power factor increased because of the enhancement of carrier acoustic lattice scattering especially at lower temperatures. Both the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) and the thermoelectric compatibility factor (C_F), which play very important roles for applications, were improved over the whole temperature region. PACS 72.15.Eb; 72.15.Jf; 72.20.Pa; 63.20.Mt; 74.25.Fy An erratum to this article can be found at     

Thermal transport in the intermetallic compound CeNi<Subscript>4</Subscript>Cr

Electrical resistivity, thermopower (TEP), thermal conductivity and the thermoelectric figure of merit are studied for the CeNi₄Cr compound, which has been previously suggested to be a fluctuating valence system with a tendency to the increase of the effective mass at low temperatures. The analysis of the thermoelectric properties confirms such a possibility and provides characteristic parameters like the Debye temperature, Fermi energy and the position of the f band. Both the thermopower and the magnetic part of the electrical resistivity could be analyzed within a similar model assuming a narrow f-band of the Lorentzian form near the Fermi energy. The thermal conductivity shows that the phonon contribution exceeds the electronic one below 220 K.     

Dependence of the physical properties of pure and lithium intercalated zirconium diselenide on the host lattice stoichiometry

X-ray, conductivity, susceptibility and NMR measurements have been performed on pure and lithium intercalated zirconium diselenide Li_xZrSe_y in the stoichiometry range 1.85 < y < 1.95. It is shown that the pure host conductivity behaves as metallic for y < 1.90 and as semiconducting for y > 1.91. Occurence of lattice expansion upon intercalation for a threshold x value has been confirmed by neutrons diffraction measurements with y = 1.95 and it is found that this threshold x value depends on the stoichiometry y of the host matrix. Previous works are discussed in view of these results which give evidence for interactions between the intercalated lithium and the stoichiometry defects.     

Doping effects on the thermoelectric properties of Cu-intercalated Bi2Te2.7Se0.3

We herein report an enhancement of the thermoelectric performance of spark plasma sintered polycrystalline n-type Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3 by the intercalation of Cu and the doping of Al on Bi-sites. Through the intercalation of a small amount of Cu (0.008), the reproducibility could be significantly improved, with ZT was enhanced from 0.64 to 0.73 at 300 K due to the reduced lattice thermal conductivity benefiting from intensified point-defect phonon scattering. We also found that Al is an effective doping element for power factor enhancement and for reducing the lattice thermal conductivity of Cu-intercalated Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3. With these synergetic effects, an enhanced ZT values of 0.78 at 300 K and 0.81 at 360 K were obtained in 1 at% Al-doped Cu_0.008Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3 (Cu_0.008Bi_1.98Al_0.02Te_2.7Se_0.3).     

Transport properties in the pseudobinary (Gd,Y) Al2 series

The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity, the thermal conductivity and the thermopower of the cubic isostructural (Gd_xY_1–x)Al₂ series will be presented. The magnetic properties of this system are characterized by the existence of ferromagnetism for Gd concentrations x>0.3 while for low Gd contents cluster and spinglass behaviour is observed. The spin dependent scattering contribution to the transport phenomena has been obtained by comparing the experimental data of the magnetic compounds with those of the isostructural nonmagnetic YAl₂. For the ferromagnetic concentration range and forT>T _c (T _c =Curie temperature) we revealed a temperature independent contribution to the electrical resistivity, a contribution with a temperature variation of 1/T to the thermal resistivity and a linear temperature dependence of this part to the thermopower. These results are in good agreement with the temperature dependence calculated by solving the linearized Boltzmann equation for this type of scattering processes.     

Charge transport mechanism of vanadium pentoxide xerogel-polyaniline nanocomposite

The nanocomposites of conducting polyaniline are prepared by intercalating into the layers of vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) xerogel. The intercalation is confirmed by the observation of lattice expansion of V₂O₅ xerogel. Dc conductivity of the gel follows Arrhenius type temperature dependence while the nanocomposites exhibit three dimensional variable range hopping. The ac conductivity and dielectric properties are extensively studied at low temperature up to the frequency of 10 MHz. Two semicircles in Cole-Cole plot of impedance are found for the nanocomposites. The ac conductivity spectra reveal three frequency regions. The frequency exponent in the lower frequency region is nearer to 2. The dielectric response exhibit broad spectra which are analyzed by Cole-Cole distribution function. The peak frequency of dielectric spectra appears at the first cross over frequency of conductivity spectra.     

Effect of tunneling on the thermoelectric efficiency of bulk nanostructured materials

The possibility of increasing the thermoelectric figure of merit for bulk nanostructured materials has been investigated theoretically. The kinetic coefficients of the nanostructured material have been calculated and evaluated under the assumption that the dominant role in the transfer is played by the tunneling of electrons between nanoparticles. The limiting case of the absence of phonon thermal conductivity through barrier layers has been considered. It has been demonstrated using the estimates obtained for materials based on Bi₂Te₃ that the thermopower in the nanostructured material can be sufficiently high and that, despite the low electrical conductivity, the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit can be as large as 3–4 at room temperature.     

Investigations of transport properties of UMn2

The aim of our investigations on UMn₂ was to study the influence of the giant temperature dependent lattice distortion on transport properties (electrical resistivity, thermopower). Furthermore DTA measurements were performed to get exact information about transition temperature and the type of this transition from cubic (MgCu₂-structure) to mono-clinic structure. We found that the onset of the lattice distortion is in the vicinity of 235 K and the influence on transport properties is extremely small.     

Electronic conductivity and thermopower of Ca2NaMg2V3O12−x garnet

Results are reported from conductivity and thermoelectric power measurements on partially reduced Ca₂NaMg₂V₃O_12?x, with x < 5.10^?2, at temperatures of 300–1100 K. The conductivity is thermally activated with activation energies 0.26 ? E_a ? 1.28 eV for differently reduced samples. The thermopower is temperature independent in the 300–800 K region. These results are shown to be consistent with the adiabatic hopping of small polarons localised on the vanadium sublattice, where defect interactions result in the formation of multiple conduction pathways.     

Thermal conductivity of opal filled with a LiIO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ionic conductor

The temperature dependences of the thermal conductivity of a synthetic opal and opal-based nano-composites prepared by introducing a LiIO₃ superionic conductor into pores of the opal matrix from an aqueous solution or melt are measured by the hot-wire technique in the temperature range 290–420 K. It is demonstrated that the thermal conductivity of pure opal increases with an increase in the diameter of the SiO₂ spheres forming a face-centered cubic lattice of an opal and is determined by the total thermal resistance of interfaces between the spheres. Filling of opal pores with the ionic conductor leads to an increase in the thermal conductivity. The behavior of the thermal conductivity and its magnitude in opal-based nanocomposites depend to a large extent on the method of filling the matrix pores.     

Thermal transport in the oxygenated magnetic superconductor, Eu1.5Ce0.5RuSr2Cu2O10+δ

The thermal conductivity and thermopower are reported for a hole doped Eu_1.5Ce_0.5RuSr₂Cu₂O_10+δ sample that has been annealed at 1100 K under an oxygen pressure of 54 atm. At T_c=45 K superconductivity and weak ferromagnetism coexist (T_m=180 K). Weak features in the thermopower, S(T), and thermal conductivity, κ(T), are observed both at T_m and at T^*=140 K. The thermopower begins to decrease sharply toward zero at T_c, and there is an extremely sharp increase of about 30% in the thermal conductivity at T_c. This “first order” transition may be related to the sudden appearance of a spontaneous vortex phase at T_c. A small shoulder is observed in κ(T) in the temperature range T=5–13 K.     

Thermal expansion and thermal conductivity of CuGa<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>In<Subscript>x</Subscript>Te<Subscript>2</Subscript> solid solutions

The thermal expansion coefficients and the thermal conductivity of Bridgman-grown crystals of CuGa_1−x In_xTe₂ solid solutions are investigated. It is found that the thermal expansion coefficient varies with x linearly, while the thermal conductivity is minimal when x=0.5. The Debye temperature and the rms dynamic atomic displacements are calculated from experimental data. It is shown that the Debye temperature decreases and the rms displacements in the crystal lattice sharply increase as the In content in the solid solutions grows.     

Thermal conductivity of La0.67(CaxSr1−x)0.33MnO3 (x=0, 0.5, 1) and La0.6Y0.07Ca0.33MnO3 pellets between 10 and 300 K

Thermal conductivity (λ) of nanocrystalline La_0.67(Ca_xSr_1−x)_0.33MnO₃ (x=0, 0.5, 1) and La_0.6Y_0.07Ca_0.33MnO₃ pellets prepared by a novel ‘pyrophoric’ method have been studied between the temperature range 10 and 300 K. Our data show that the magnitude of thermal conductivity is strongly influenced by the ion substitutions at La-site. The analysis of the thermal conductivity data indicates that the thermal transport is governed largely by phonons scattering in these systems and the electronic contribution is as small as 0.2-1% of total thermal conductivity (λ_total). At low temperatures (<90 K) 2D like lattice defects contribute to the phonon scattering dominantly and its strength increases with increasing Sr content and also with partial substitution of La by Y. Depending upon the composition of the samples, the magnon thermal conductivity contributes 2-15% of λ_total close to T_C. In the paramagnetic regime the unusual increase in λ_total keeps signature of large dynamic lattice distortion.     

熔体旋甩法制备p型填充式方钴矿化合物Ce0.3Fe1.5Co2.5Sb12的微结构及热电性能

采用熔体旋甩法结合放电等离子烧结技术(MS-SPS)制备了p型填充式方钴矿化合物Ce_0.3Fe_1.5Co_2.5Sb₁₂,研究了熔体旋甩工艺对微结构以及热电性能的影响规律.结果表明,较高的铜辊转速和较低的喷气压力有利于提高熔体的冷却速率,使带状产物晶粒细化.薄带经SPS烧结后得到致密、基本单相、晶粒尺寸均匀细小(150—300 nm)的块体.与传统方法制备的试样相比,MS-SPS试样虽然电导率有所降低,但因具有较大的Se 关键词： 熔体旋甩 p型填充式方钴矿化合物 微结构 热电性能