Fabrication And Optimization Of Multi-atom Filled Skutterudite CoSb₃ Thermoelectric Materials

Thermoelectric materials are a kind of new energy materials with the ability of convert directly and reversibly between thermal and electrical energy. On account of the advantages of no moving components, being silent, environmental friendly, good reliability and scalability, the thermoelectric technology has captured much attention in the fields of practical solar power generation, cooling, and waste heat recovery systems. Among many thermoelectric materials, CoSb3-based skutterudite thermoelectric materials being intensely pursued in hopes of developing efficient thermoelectric materials because of their reasonable band gaps and high carrier motilities.In this paper, series of filled and doped skutterudite compounds have been prepared successfully by high temperature and high pressure(HTHP) method and then characterized with X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe analysis, Seebeck Coefficient, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity. Moreover, the microstructure and the relationships between thermoelectric properties and synthetic pressure have been studied carefully. The test results suggest that the HTHP technique is a superior approach to optimize thermoelectric properties of thermoelectric materials and provides an effective technique and a production basis for the further development and research of thermoelectric materials.