Abstract
Ytterbium trialuminide (YbAl3) has one of the largest thermoelectric power factors of known materials below room temperature, making it a material of interest for low-temperature thermoelectric devices. However, the high thermal conductivity, which is due to a combination of a large electronic thermal conductivity and a moderately large lattice thermal conductivity, is detrimental to the figure of merit. Substitution of different atoms on the Yb site was performed in order to assess their ability to favorably alter the electronic structure and/or reduce the lattice thermal conductivity. We have synthesized and studied the thermoelectric properties of the solid solutions of YbAl3 with ErAl3 and LuAl3. Results for electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient for several of these solid solutions over the temperature range of 80 K to 300 K are reported. Although most substituted samples are driven toward a metallic state, we find that for some compositions the figure of merit is enhanced relative to pure YbAl3.
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Lehr, G.J., Morelli, D.T. Thermoelectric Properties of Yb1−x (Er,Lu) x Al3 Solid Solutions. J. Electron. Mater. 42, 1697–1701 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2401-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2401-2