Significant changes in thermoelectric properties of unfilled skutterudite compounds MSb3 (M = Co and Rh) by self-insertion reaction

We report thermoelectric properties of high-pressure phases SbxM4Sb12-x (M = Co and Rh) prepared by a selfinsertion reaction from binary skutterudite compounds MSb3 under high pressure and high temperature. Electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity were measured in the temperature range of 2-300 K. The lattice thermal conductivities of SbxM4Sb12-x showed a significant reduction. The minimum value is 1.32 Wm(-1)K(-1) (77% reduction compare to RhSb3) at 300 K for SbxRh4Sb12-x. The value is close to that of a triple filled skutterudite (Ba,La,Yb)xCo(4)Sb(12) and is the smallest among the RhSb3 based single filled skutterudite.

Automated summary

This article reports the thermoelectric properties of high-pressure phases SbxM4Sb12-x (M = Co and Rh) prepared by a self-insertion reaction at high pressure and high temperature. The electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity of these compounds were measured in the temperature range of 2-300 K. The lattice thermal conductivity of SbxM4Sb12-x showed a significant reduction, with SbxRh4Sb12-x having the smallest thermal conductivity.