Thermoelectric properties and electronic structure of Zintl compound BaZn2Sb2

Polycrystalline sample of the title compound was prepared and its thermoelectric properties from 2 to 675 K were investigated. This Zintl compound shows rather low thermal conductivity, 1.6 W m(-1) K-1, at room temperature. The value of its thermoelectric figure of merit ZT reaches 0.31 at 675 K. Its electronic structure, calculated by ab initio methods, suggests that the electrical transport are mainly ascribe to [Zn2Sb2] framework for p-type BaZn2Sb2. The heat capacity curve at low temperature was fitted lineally to obtain Debye temperature (about 208 K). It provides the authors with a host lattice for modification and optimization the thermoelectric properties through substitution and/or doping. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.