ICT2014 Abstracts

Skutterudite has good thermoelectric properties in the temperature range from 500 K to 900 K for thermoelectric power generators. Many studies have been reported on the CoSb₃-based n-type skutterudites with very high figure of merit (ZT = 1.4 ~ 1.7), but there is a limit to obtain the high ZT value of p-type skutterudites. Alternatively, researches on the RFe₄Sb₁₂-based p-type skutterudites are proceeding actively. Void filling and charge compensation are simultaneously employed to stabilize the skutterudite structure and to optimize the carrier concentration. The thermal conductivity can be also reduced by filling and doping due to phonon scattering and ionized impurity scattering. In this study, p-type Yb_zFe_4-xNi_xSb₁₂ skutterudites were synthesized by encapsulated melting, annealing, and hot pressing. Thermoelectric and transport properties were examined.