The typical skutterudite structure compound CoSb3 was prepared hy are melti
ng followed by sintering. The samples were characterized by powder X-ray di
ffraction method, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and the thermoelectr
ic properties such as the thermal diffusivity, electrical resistivity, and
Seebeck coefficient were measured in the temperature range from room temper
ature to about 750 K. The thermal conductivity of CoSb3 was estimated from
the heat capacity, the experimental density, and the thermal diffusivity me
asured by the laser Rash method. The calculated dimensionless figure of mer
it, ZT of CoSb3 was lower than that of state of the art thermoelectric mate
rials. In order to enhance the ZT, it was attempted to reduce the lattice t
hermal conductivity of CoSb3. The electronic contribution to thr: thermal c
onductivity was estimated by Wiedemann-Franz law. and the lattice thermal c
onductivity was determined. It was found that the lattice thermal conductiv
ity of CoSb3 can be decreased, and ZT of CoSb3 can potentially be enhanced.
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